Ruby-A-Go-Go!
by TheInkredibleKaptainKaiju
Summary: Their adventures on Earth having come to a close (for now), the Ruby Squad is redeployed to a communications station where a new adventure begins...
1. New Place

The Elsewhere Saga: Ruby-A-Go-Go!

Chapter 1: New Place

* * *

_Homeworld, Capital District. Era 2, Year 5,744._

In the heart of Homeworld, activity whirled everywhere around a group of five Gems. The red Gems stood outside of a big black building, waiting for something, each in different ways. One of these Gems, a Ruby with her gem on her chest, paced back and forth in front of two large doors. She wore a yellow visor to signify her position as captain of the group.

The other Rubies waited as well. One, her gem sitting on her arm, stared and growled at passersby, who in turn paid her no mind. Another, with her gem on her stomach, peered down from atop an overpass, throwing chips of pavement down at Gems below, careful to duck out of site if she hit her target. The last, a timid young thing with her gem on her leg, sat nervously next to her commander.

The commander, however, was not a Ruby. She was red as well, but she was much larger. In addition to her gray-blue hair, two locks of it sticking up as if to imitate horns, she wore an oval gemstone on her left cheek, and a black jumpsuit. The larger Gem leaned against a wall impatiently.

After a while, the double doors slid open with a hiss. Out stepped a fifth Ruby, wearing a grimace and a gem where her left eye would be. Once she stepped out of the room, her fellows crowded around her.

"Well? What happened?" the navel Ruby asked.

"Is it over? Is she dead?" the arm Ruby asked.

"Do I have to go in next?" the leg Ruby asked.

"Stop crowding her, you all!" the chest Ruby said, shooing her compatriots away from the new arrival. "Though, you should tell us how it went."

"The Diamonds said I'm not allowed to talk about it," the eyeball Ruby responded in a gruff voice. "All I can say is that Rose Quartz won't be bothering us anytime soon!"

The other Rubies murmured praise and approval to their companion, before the larger Gem quieted them down.

"All right, enough fraternizing, you lot," she said.

All five Rubies turned to face her, and saluted. "Yes, Red Lace Agate!" they all said.

Red Lace Agate continued. "With Rose Quartz condemned, maybe now we can finally put this nightmare behind us. Now, let's get you to your next assignment."

With that, the six Gems walked away from the black building, boarded a monorail, and headed back to base. They were none the wiser that "Rose Quartz" and a friend had escaped from the courtroom, but that is another story altogether.

* * *

_Pisces Sector, Combat District._

The five Rubies had recently returned from what their Agate referred to as an "extended" mission to Earth. She preferred not to describe her Rubies' shortcomings, at least not to anyone but them. While they had failed to retrieve Jasper as they were ordered to, they had brought to Homeworld's attention that there was still an active cell of Crystal Gems on Earth, including their leader, Rose Quartz. Their higher-ups had decided that this was enough, as more activity from the enemy faction would make getting Jasper back difficult, especially for such a ragtag bunch of Rubies. Instead, they were to be reassigned.

As the five milled around doing nothing in particular, a door slid open, and Red Lace Agate entered. "Fall in, Rubies! Your new orders are here." The five of them stood at attention before their commander, waiting to receive them.

"Right," she said, opening the file on a holoscreen. "The five of you are to be transferred to an open guard position on Rulax-14, effective immediately."

The Rubies' captain's eyes widened to a comical degree. "What!?" she suddenly shouted, startling her youngest subordinate.

Red Lace Agate had expected this reaction. "Yes, yes, I know, but I don't want to hear any whining! I've got enough to deal with as it is, what with the Era-2 Rubies coming out the way they are."

The Ruby wearing the visor clarified, "Oh, I would never complain, My Agate, but..._Rulax-14?_ Why do they even _need_ guards there?"

The Agate strolled over to the exit. "Look, I didn't decide where to send you, I just send you there. Now, get moving! I've got stuff to do."

The squad of Rubies were unceremoniously sent from the room, where they were to board a ship to take them to their destination.

* * *

_Rulax-14_

Out of the many colonies and planets under Homeworld control, Rulax-14 was certainly one of them. In fact, it is still debated to this day, mainly among bored Gems with nothing better to do, if it qualifies as a small planet or a large asteroid. Far from a desirable place to be stationed, it was just some isolated planet far off in some remote corner of the universe. Nevertheless, it was the location of a communications array, which necessitated guards. A small transport ship broke through hyperspace, and began its descent.

"Well, this is your stop," the ship's Jadeite pilot said as they landed. She sounded bored just being there. The five Rubies exited the ship, which quickly took off again, hesitant to spend more time than necessary on the planetoid.

The Gems wandered in the general direction of recognizable civilization, where they found another Gem waiting for them. She was another Agate, with green skin and short brown hair in a bun behind her head. Her gem was a rounded triangle speckled in white, brown, and green, on her left shoulder.

"Ah, you must be the new guards! It's about time you got here!" she said. She was wringing her hands nervously, several strands of hair out of place.

The leader of the Rubies walked forward and introduced herself. " Ruby facet 98SK cut 2RH, reporting for duty!" The other Rubies followed her example.

"Yes, yes, I'm glad you showed up," she said, waving her hand. "I'm Moss Agate, the one in charge of this…" She struggled to find a suitable word, before settling on "...station."

The Ruby with the eyeball gem stepped in front of the captain. "Moss Agate, might I say it's an honor to serve you, and we'll happily assist your operations any way we can." Her leader looked at her quizzically, while the two youngest members of the squad giggled to each other.

Moss Agate was unimpressed. "Uh-huh. Well, let me show you to your posts."

With that, the Gems began a trek down the main street of the installation. To their sides stood several maintenance hubs and subspace radio towers, and beyond that was the bleak expanse of nothing but rocks for miles around. Aside from a handful of Peridots, and Moss Agate herself, the Rubies were the only Gems on the small satellite.

In front of them stood a fairly large building; nowhere near the height of some of the skyscrapers on Homeworld, though at three stories tall, it was a good deal larger than the other buildings nearby.

"This is the main archive, the most important building on this entire Diamond-forsaken void-hole," Moss Agate explained, who clearly wasn't happy about being stationed here either. "That's fancy talk for it being the only one worth guarding, which is what you're here for. Every transmission in this entire quadrant comes through this station, and is stored in there, making its security an absolute necessity."

"But, who are we guarding it from?" the youngest Ruby asked naively.

"That is a wonderful question," Moss Agate replied, exasperated. "One would think this place's location would be security enough, but _of course_ it has to be maintained, and _obviously_ the Peridots need some kind of supervision!" Her voice was filled to the brim with sarcasm. "Ugh, I can't deal with this right now. Have fun." She stormed off, leaving the tiny red troopers to their duty.

When the five of them entered the building, only arm-Ruby took her position immediately, standing still near the door with a dutiful expression. Leg-Ruby stood next to her, not really knowing what to do, while eyeball-Ruby went to investigate upstairs. Meanwhile, navel-Ruby went over to look at files of previous transmissions in the archive's library. Her crewmates accounted for, chest-Ruby stood in place at the center of the room, surveying. "That Agate seems a little high-strung," she said to herself.

"Mm," Navy agreed. "She doesn't seem very scary, either. Most Agates I've seen have been scary, but she isn't."

"You aren't scared of Red Lace Agate," Doc said back.

"But she is scary. I'm not scared _of_ her, but she _is_ scary. Moss Agate looks scared instead of scary."

While the two conversed on, Leggy and Army still stood guard at the front of the room, the former attempting to imitate the latter's demeanor. Meanwhile, upstairs, Eyeball stood looking across the lack-of-scenery, moping.

"Nothing but lousy rocks and dust for miles," she muttered. "This is the worst! I fought in the Earth War! I should be out there busting up Interlopers, not standing guard over this lousy excuse for a lousy outpost!" Despite her complaints, she knew exactly why they were here: they had failed in their assignment. Returning with valuable information about their previous enemy did not make up for the fact that they had failed to bring back one of the greatest soldiers in Homeworld's history.

"And I never even got to meet her…" she murmured.

Downstairs, Doc wandered through the halls of the archives, looking for anything out of the ordinary. How she would tell the ordinary from its suspicious counterpart she didn't know, but as a leader it was important to seem confident in front of one's subordinates. She meticulously checked every nook and cranny she found, until one seemed to stand out from the others. Hidden behind a shelf of data pads sat a familiar looking door. The reason it looked so familiar was that it bore a sigil that Doc had not seen in a very long time: Four diamonds forming one larger diamond, the lowest among them pink in color. Whatever was behind that door, it was from Era-1.

_That's weird_," Doc thought to herself. _Should we look inside? No, it's probably a secret_. She began to walk past it, before doubling back. _Then again, we are here to be guards. We wouldn't be doing our job if we didn't guard in there, too_. She ran off to round up the rest of the Rubies, intent on unlocking the mysteries of this mysterious door.


	2. December

Chapter 2: December

* * *

"I don't like this place. I just don't. I really don't," Leggy said. She hadn't intended it as a complaint; she was just making her thoughts known.

The five Rubies had entered the strange door hidden behind the shelves, and found within it a walkway suspended above an enormous cavern. The cave system seemed to stretch downwards for miles, and where the walkway led, none of them had the slightest idea. Of the Rubies, Leggy had been most vocal against delving deeper, but Doc, ever the pioneer, urged her troops to enter the cavern to discover what lie in wait for them.

"Quit being such a scaredy-Pearl!" Army growled. "Nothin's down here but rocks anyway. Same as above."

"But what if Moss Agate doesn't want us to be down here?" she wondered nervously.

"Then she would have said something," Navy replied. "She didn't say we could go down here, but she didn't say we _couldn't_ go down here."

Leggy tried to wrap her head around this reasoning, but Doc spoke up. "Our mission is to guard Rulax-14, and this cave is on Rulax-14, so we have to guard it. Make sense?" Leggy nodded, but she was still spooked by the shadows surrounding them.

The path continued onwards. After walking down a catwalk for sometime, the gang of Rubies descended many flights of stairs, down deeper into the cavern. From what they had seen of the cavern so far, it almost seemed as if the entire planet was hollow, and not from natural causes: the pathways and stairs were one thing, but the symmetrical way the stone had been removed suggested it had been done via machinery. But why such a deep system of caves was needed for a mere communications junction, none of them could guess.

"This place is _massive_!" Army said. Her voice echoed across the cavern's walls. "Why do you think Moss Agate didn't tell us about it?"

Eyeball, who had been silent throughout the trek, finally spoke. "I don't think she even knows about it."

"Huh? How can she not know about it if she's the one in charge?" Army asked.

Before Eyeball could respond, the two Rubies were startled by a yelp of fear from Leggy. The young Ruby, who had been trailing behind the group, quickly ran ahead of them, hiding behind Eyeball from something unknown.

"What is it? What's wrong, newbie?" Doc asked.

"Th-there was something over there!" Leggy said, pointing to a rocky outcropping. "When Ruby shouted, I looked at where the echoes were coming from, and something was moving, and when I looked closer _it looked at me_!"

"Okay, calm down now," Doc said, patting Leggy's shoulder. "What do you mean it 'looked at you?'"

"It had eyes!" Leggy said. "Red eyes! Four of them! It looked at me, and then it crawled away! I think it was some sort of organic!"

"That's impossible, Ruby," Navy said. "Organics need air, and there's no air here."

"All I know is that it looked at me!" Leggy insisted. At this point, Army had continued on ahead, unseen by the rest of the group.

"Hey, team!" she called out. "There's something weird over here!"

The rest of the Rubies followed her voice, Leggy still clinging to Eyeball. Once they reached their comrade, they found she had indeed discovered something weird. A large room, with one wall covered in large glass canisters. The smallest one, at the end of the room, was no bigger than a single Ruby, but they increased in size until the one closest to the door, which was ginormous. A quick count would reveal that there were eleven in total. The strangest part, however, was that each of the cannisters was smashed open from the inside; broken glass was strewn across the floor.

At the end of the room, Army was staring at a large Era-1 computer. Despite being covered with dust, it appeared not to have sustained any damage, unlike the rest of the room.

"The mystery deepens," Doc said to herself. The Rubies fanned out, examining different parts of the room.

"What'd I tell ya?" Army asked. "Weird, or what?" Doc wasn't listening, however, as she was more interested in the computer. If they could get it running, it could solve the mystery of this cave.

Doc called Navy, who was quite tech-savvy, over to her. Between Navy's know-how and Doc's familiarity with Era-1 machinery, all it took was a few button presses, a couple rerouted wires, and a good kick to get it working again. The other Rubies crowded around them, attracted by the glow of the monitor.

"Well? What's it say?" Eyeball asked impatiently.

"I just turned it on. Hold on a sec, will you?" Navy said. After some navigation, she said, "It looks like the hard drive had been wiped clean. Whoever did it was in a hurry, too. It's a pretty sloppy job." She typed a few commands into the computer, before a single file appeared with a 'Ding!' "Hang on, here's something! It says...something about…'Project: Birthstone?' What is that?"

Navy opened the file. Much of it had been clumsily redacted, but she could still make out snippets here and there. Something about forced-fusion experiments, geological weaponry, and an unidentified number of test subjects; whatever the number had been, it was blacked out, with '11' written in its place. She also noticed several video recordings dated back thousands of years.

Before she could open the videos, however, the group was interrupted by a low snarl from behind them. The Rubies whipped around: standing in the doorway was a humanoid figure between five and six feet tall. As it crept slowly into the room, they saw it had pure white skin, several spines on its back, three large claws on each hand, and four piercing red eyes.

"That's the thing!" Leggy suddenly shouted. "That's the thing that looked at me!"

The creature, agitated by Leggy's outburst, charged at the Rubies. The group managed to dive out of the way of its initial charge, though it continued to slash at them, screeching up a storm. Doc, as always, led the charge, driving a punch directly into the creature's face. It was pushed back slightly from the impact, but it recovered just as fast. With lightning speed, it grabbed the Ruby captain in its powerful claws. Though she struggled, its iron grip held firm; it was far stronger than an organic of its size had any right to be. Its four piercing, unblinking eyes regarded Doc for a moment, before its jaws opened. Doc was sure that if its grip was this strong, its bite would be even stronger.

Before it had the opportunity, however, a red object streaked through the air. All of a sudden, the creature stopped moving, and relinquished its grip on Doc, who dropped to her feet. The creature fell backwards to the floor, one of Eyeball's knives protruding from its forehead.

The Rubies had been scattered by the thing's assault, but Eyeball stood resolute at the other end of the room. "Bullseye," she muttered. The Rubies crowded around the creature. It was no longer moving, clearly killed by Eyeball's thrown knife. Said weapon vanished, and while the wound still remained, no blood of any color or consistency flowed from it.

"What _is_ it?" Army asked, in clear contempt for the strange being.

"It certainly looks like an organic," Doc said. "But why is it here? And why hadn't it died before we got here?"

Suddenly, something caught Eyeball's eye. She gently nudged the creature's right hand with her foot. Its arm rolled over, and as its claws parted; embedded into its palm was a lime-green gemstone: a Zircon.

"You guys," Eyeball said softly, "I think I know what Project: Birthstone is."

* * *

Moss Agate followed the Rubies, who were quickly walking down the stairs. "Slow down!" she ordered. "I can't see what it is you want to show me if I can't keep up!"

After the Rubies had discovered the true nature of the creature, they had rushed to get Moss Agate. Though they tried to make her understand, they all spoke over each other so much they could not be understood, and so decided a visual aid would be more effective. Eyeball's theory of Moss Agate not knowing about the underground cavern was, incidentally, confirmed.

"It's right down there!" Navy said, rounding a corner. Moss Agate followed her, only to scream at the sight of the dead creature. It was a sound none of the Rubies had heard an Agate make; much too high-pitched.

Moss Agate backed into a corner, holding her hand out in front of her. "W-what is that hideous monstrosity!?"

"That's what we thought!" Leggy said. "How did something like this happen?" She held up the thing's arm, showing its gem.

Moss Agate recoiled further. "That's even worse! Get it away, get it out of here!"

The Rubies were surprised by Moss Agate's reaction, but Army awkwardly shoved the creature's body out of sight.

"What do you make of this?" Doc asked her.

"What I _make_ of it is that someone's weaponized organics! As if they weren't horrible enough…"

The room's attention was suddenly drawn to the computer, which Navy had activated once again. Everyone congregated around the screen, as Navy began to play one of the videos. "Let's start with log number one," she said.

The video opened, showing the face of a yellow Gem. Her gemstone was where her right eye would be, and her hair was put up in two spikes, giving it a sideways 'C' shape.

The yellow Gem spoke. "Science Min-_former_ Science Minister Heliodor speaking. Project: Birthstone log entry one. Ever since my experiments with Gem shards were deemed 'unethical' by the Diamonds, despite being behind the Cluster, might I add, I was stripped of my status. With everything my research shows geo-transference is capable of, it is irresponsible by them to give up such a valuable asset such as myself. That's when I decided to take my research here. This planetoid is so isolated, none but myself and my assistants will know about it. I can finally perform my experiments in peace, uninhibited by so-called 'ethics.'" A yellow Pearl appeared behind her.

"My Heliodor, the bio-samples are here."

"Excellent. End log."

The video ended. Everyone was silent for a moment.

"Project: Birthstone…" Doc whispered.

"This is pretty bad," Moss Agate said. "If the _Diamonds_ think something is unethical, it must be pretty bad. What is it she could have done?"

"Something related to the Cluster," Navy said. "I can't see any more, the other logs are encrypted. It may take some time to decrypt them."

"We'll deal with it later," Moss Agate said. "For now, let's get out of this tomb. Back to your normal duties, all of you." The six Gems ascended back to the surface, leaving the dismal depths behind them.


	3. Doc

Chapter 3: Doc

* * *

_Outpost Delta-Epsilon. Era 2, Year 23._

A small, uninhabited planet, largely concealed by an asteroid belt, is the perfect place for an outpost. Nearby enemies, like the Interloper stronghold only a few light years away, would be unable to detect such a relatively small base.

The small base held a small team of scouts. Despite their meager numbers, Homeworld had ordered them to take the stronghold on their own. Reinforcements were scarce, and the munitions factory at the stronghold meant the Interlopers could rely on sheer numbers to overwhelm the Gems, as usual.

A lone Agate paced the floor, desperately attempting to construct an attack plan that didn't turn into a suicide mission. As soon as their ships entered the factory's airspace, they would be swarmed. They couldn't rely on stealth, either, as enough Interlopers were being made inside the factory that the slightest mistake would result in them being completely overrun. So far, the best case scenario was enough Rubies getting past the initial waves to disable the factory before they were all destroyed.

The Agate ended up presenting this strategy to her troops. "With our meager numbers," she explained, "the only way we'll be able to take this 'bot factory is with heavy sacrifices. I expect many of us, myself included, will not survive." She explained this whilst pointing to a holographic display of her battle plan with a trident. Between this weapon, her red skin, and some upwards-facing tufts of hair, she looked not unlike a devil. "The Interlopers tend to rely on strength in numbers, so it looks like we'll have to do the same. If anyone thinks they have any better plans, now is the time to speak up."

One Ruby raised her hand. "How about we split up, and attack them from all sides?"

"Not a bad thought, but our ships are too flimsy individually. They'd tear us apart even more than they would grouped up," the Agate responded. "Anyone else?"

Another Ruby piped up. "What are our long-ranged offense options?"

The Agate sighed. "Not good. We need to be up close and personal to pull this one off."

A third Ruby asked, "What about a long-range assault?"

Looking mentally exhausted, the Agate sprayed this Ruby with a stream of boiling water from her trident. The Ruby, being a Ruby, was no more irritated by this than with room temperature water.

The Agate massaged her temples. "I suppose that's what I get, asking Rubies for strategic advice. Okay team, get ready to ship out. _Adamantem in Eternum_, I guess."

"What about a decoy?"

The Agate turned back. Yet another Ruby had spoken, this one walking slightly closer to her. "What do you mean?" she inquired.

The Ruby said, "What if we sent one team to lure the Interlopers away from the factory, and another team snuck in behind them to destroy it?"

The Agate raised her finger, prepared to criticize this plan of attack, but decided it was a decent idea. "Hmm...little Ruby, you just might be onto something. What's your designation?"

This Ruby saluted, her arms around the gemstone on her chest. "Ruby Facet 98SK Cut 2RH! I was only recently added to your squadron, Red Lace Agate."

Grinning slightly, Red Lace Agate turned to a Peridot to her right. "Peridot, do you think this Ruby's plan in sound?"

Said Peridot examined some files. "According to this data, My Agate, the Interlopers produced by the factory emerge in groups, not as a constant stream. If the decoy team can coordinate their attack with a new batch, it is likely that the factory will be left relatively defenseless."

Red nodded, and turned back to her troops. "Rubies, there's been a slight change of plans. We're going to be splitting up into two groups: Team A will distract the Interlopers and lead them away from the factory, while Team B will sneak in from behind, and destroy the factory from the inside." She looked at the Ruby that had suggested the plan. "2RH, I'll need you to lead Team B. You seem to have a knack for strategy. I'll lead Team A to keep any Interlopers at bay. Understood?"

Saluting, the Ruby said, "It would be an honor, Red Lace Agate!

"Right, then. Everybody into formation!"

The assault on the factory would go on to be a rousing success, with minimal casualties. Impressed by the Ruby's skill in combat and leadership, Red Lace Agate assigned her to more and more missions. Due to her impressive skill-set in strategy, Ruby Facet 98SK Cut 2RH was soon promoted to captain.

* * *

"Former Science Minister Heliodor speaking. Project: Birthstone log entry two. The experiments are progressing with no problems. In fact, the geo-transference is working much smoother than I had initially expected. Host bodies are taking to the implanted gemstones almost instantaneously, and are much more aggressive than I predicted. Considering how fast organics are able to reproduce, we could potentially build an army with troops even more numerous than the Interlopers! The only hurdle would be acquiring enough gemstones to power them, but I'm sure I'll find a workaround. I always do."

Heliodor momentarily walked out of the recordings view. She came back into frame as a diagram appeared behind where she was standing. It showed what appeared to be some sort of organic, with a gem being inserted into a hole cut into its body. Equations littered the margins.

"As you can see, creating these geo-weapons...or would they be bio-weapons? It it possible for them to be both? What would that make them?...Anyways, making them is more complicated than simple sticking a gem into an organic body. Not only would the organic most likely reject its new power source-slash-controller, but the Gem herself would likely attempt to reform, completely negating the whole experiment. In order to create a new being, both individuals must be deceased. This is where geo-transference comes in."

The diagram changed; the new one showed what was apparently a microscopic view of the inside of a Gem's gem, with several chemical equations to the side.

"Done correctly, geo-transference is a process that bonds a Gem's GNA to another source with the right combination of several acids and electrical currents. Back on Earth, this was between two or more gem shards, but I've found it works just as well with organics. To put it simply, the gem is placed into a pre-carved hole in the host, where it is partially melted, bonding to the organic. Energy from the gem is transferred, hence the name, into the organic's body. The result is neither a Gem nor an organic, but something else entirely, an organic form enhanced by, and controlled from, the gem placed inside it. The savagery of the organic, with the unending life of a Gem."

The diagram disappeared from behind Heliodor, who looked down.

"However, not all of my work has been successful. I found that gem shards do not 'take' the same way whole gems do. The resulting hybrids had next to no cognitive ability, simply wandering around or performing inane tasks. Some of these subjects had to be terminated, though others were able to be salvaged for further experimentation. Either way, important data was gained."

Heliodor stood up.

"I'll need to go soon, the next test is ready to begin. Subjects designated July, December, and August have been completed. Next up is June. End log."


	4. February

Chapter 4: February

* * *

_Rulax-14._

"I don't care _how_ deep those caves are," Moss Agate had said. "All I know is something down there has been harassing the Peridots. You lot are here to prevent this sort of thing from happening, so get down there and _prevent it from happening_!"

Her tangent was brought on by a strange creature that had attacked several of the Peridots stationed there, even destabilizing some of them. Whatever it was, they had described it as fast and black. And hairy. Moss Agate had sent the Rubies to hunt this dangerous beast down, lest it continue to terrorize her workers. Per her orders, the five of them descended back into the caverns to find and eliminate it.

Doc gave them further orders once they were sufficiently deep into the caves. "Okay, let's review what we know: this thing is fast, so it can cover much more ground than us. If we want to have any chance at catching it, we'll need to split up."

"Split up?" Eyeball interjected. She walked forward, climbing to the top of a nearby boulder. "How do you expect to take it down if you run into it alone? _I_ could do it, but what about the newbie?" Leggy nodded vigorously in agreement.

"If we comb the underground in a group, we'll never find it!" replied Doc, exasperated. "Splitting up is the only way we'll get this done anytime soon."

"Uh-huh. And how will we 'get this done' if it ambushes us?" Eyeball countered. "We won't be ambushed if we stick together."

All of a sudden, in what could only be described as comedic timing, a black shape suddenly dropped down on the Rubies from above, swiping at and narrowly missing Eyeball. The thing bounded to one side of the room, while the Rubies reconvened on the other. They now had a clear view of the creature; it was apelike in its posture, not much bigger than a Ruby itself. It was covered in shaggy black hair, a pair of enormous glowing white eyes its only discernible feature. Some of the hair was shaved off an area near its right shoulder blade, revealing an Amethyst gemstone embedded in its skin.

"Rubies! Weapons out!" Doc shouted. Her gem began to glow she drew a broadsword from her chest. Eyeball had already drawn her knife. The other Rubies drew their weapons as well: a spike-studded mace for Army, a bladed paper fan for Navy, and, after some struggling, Leggy held a sharpened shovel.

All the Rubies charged their foe, but as had been said, the thing was too fast. Leaping off the walls like a hyperactive monkey, the beast gracefully evaded every strike sent its way while the Rubies tripped over each other trying to get at it. Eventually, as if deciding the Rubies were not as easy targets as the Peridots, it hurried deeper into the tunnels.

Doc's weapon disappeared in a flash of light. "Any more ideas?" she asked Eyeball, who only growled. She faced the other Rubies. "Like I said: we split up. Sound should carry well enough down here, so just shout if you get cornered. Now, that thing isn't gonna kill itself; let's move!"

The Rubies' leader ventured off in the direction the creature had gone. Right behind her was Army, charging down one of the many pathways. Navy wandered down yet another path, humming to herself cheerfully. That left Eyeball, who chose a direction at random, and headed off. While she walked, she grumbled about the situation to herself, as she was wont to do.

"Splitting up...what a brilliant idea! That way this undead freak can just pick us off one by one! What did I do to deserve this, anyway?"

"I dunno," came the voice of Leggy, directly beside her.

"Gah!" Eyeball jumped, summoning her knife on reflex. "Ruby!? How long have you been there!?"

"I didn't wanna be alone, so I followed you. I know Ruby told us to split up, but I didn't want to run into that thing on my own. It's like you said, I couldn't take it out by myself!"

"Exactly," Eyeball growled, as the pair continued walking. After a while, Leggy spoke.

"Hey, Ruby?" she asked.

"What is it?"

"I feel like you and Ruby don't get along that well. Is there some history between you two?"

"That's the problem," Eyeball responded, "there isn't much history."

"Huh?"

"Don't worry about it. I have seniority, but she's the one in charge. That's all there is to it."

Leggy tilted her head to one side. "What does 'seniority' mean?"

"It means I've been doing this longer than any of you," Eyeball answered, "and that includes her. I fought in the Earth War, after all."

"Oh yeah, the Earth War," Leggy said. "Back at that moon base, you mentioned Pink Diamond? What was she like?"

Her question had caught Eyeball off guard. "I, uh, never knew her personally," she said. "I actually only saw her in person a few times. Still, she was my Diamond, and I loved her. When Rose Quartz shattered her, it was more than just a death, it was the end of an era, literally. The Diamonds grew apart, resources became harder to find, and it left us open to the Interloper attack." She stopped walking, staring down into the cliffs below. "I saw it happen, you know. It's all a bit of a blur, but I'll never forget that. I just wish I could have done something." Leggy consoled her teammate, placing a hand on her shoulder.

This touching scene was interrupted, however, when the creature from earlier suddenly whizzed past them. Leaping from catwalk to catwalk, it hurried past the Rubies and out of sight.

A fan flew pitifully past them towards the creature, closely followed by Navy. "Aw, shard! I almost had it! ...Oh, hi, guys! When did you get here?"

"We were just talking about Pi-" Leggy began, before Eyeball cut her off.

"What happened over there? How close were you to getting it?"

"Well, I was looking for it down one of the corridors," Navy said, "when all of a sudden it jumped on me! It tried to bite me, but I fought it off. Then I tried to chase it, but you saw how that turned out…"

"Wait a second...so you were alone when it attacked you?" Eyeball pondered. "Were the Peridots it attacked alone, too?"

"I think so," Navy replied. "That's what the reports said. It only attacked them if there was only one, or at least only one it could see. Why?"

Eyeball turned towards Leggy. "I think it might be time to ambush the ambusher!" she said with a grin.

Before long, the trap was prepared: Leggy sat alone in the middle of an empty room, while Navy and Eyeball waited behind a nearby rock. If Eyeball's theory was correct, the creature only attacked solitary targets. The reason it had attacked her earlier was because, standing atop the boulder, she was the only one in the group it could see from its angle. Hopefully it would take the bait with Leggy, as the other two Rubies waited to spring their trap.

The trio spent a few tense minutes sitting in a nervous silence, more so for Leggy, before Navy pointed out something to Eyeball. The creature crept silently along the ceiling, preparing to pounce on Leggy. Eyeball motioned for Navy to ready her weapon.

The monster flung itself towards the hapless Ruby, who was unaware of its presence. Before it could collide with its target, it was intercepted by a knife flung into its side, throwing it off-course just enough to miss. Leggy quickly distanced herself from it.

Eyeball and Navy charged at the creature. It responded not by leaping away, but by curling into a ball and wreathing itself in energy, rolling towards the two Rubies with its signature speed. Eyeball dodged to the side, but Navy wasn't so lucky, as she was thrown against the wall when the beast collided with her. Before it could do anything else, Eyeball jumped onto its back, slicing and stabbing with her knife. It only seemed to be mildly inconvenienced by this.

Grabbing Eyeball with its powerful arm, it pulled her off of its back and slammed her to the ground, causing her to drop her knife. Pinning her down, it then attempted to bite her, a razor-sharp beak now visible beneath its hair.

"Ruby!" Eyeball cried, struggling as she held the beast's face away from hers. "I could use a hand here!"

"I need a couple minutes…" said Navy, who was currently face-down in the dirt.

The beast neared its face to Eyeball's, clearly aiming for her gemstone. Just before it could make contact, a shout of "HEAD ATTACK!" split the air, as Leggy's shovel collided violently with the creature's cranium, saving Eyeball from its underbite.

Now that it was stunned, Eyeball took advantage. She rolled out from under it, but not before placing her palms on its chest, setting it alight. The room now danced with firelight as the creature's fur erupted in flames. This, unfortunately, did not have the desired outcome. While the thing's fur was certainly very flammable, the rest of it was evidently not, as it seemed somewhat unpreturbed.

Fortunately, this did succeed in disorienting it. It couldn't see very well due to the light from the fire, a weakness which the three Rubies capitalized on by striking at it repeatedly. It swung wildly, unable to hit its targets as they worked it towards a ledge. It was ultimately Leggy who struck the final blow, knocking it to its doom with a mighty cry of "GRAVITY DEATH!" The beast tumbled down, bouncing off several other ledges until the fire's light could no longer be seen.

Leggy seemed surprised, before she started giggling. "I...I did it. We won!" Both Leggy and Navy cheered happily, while Eyeball merely smiled. In the end, splitting up saved the day after all. Not long after, the trio rendezvoused with their companions, telling them the tale of their victory. The party reunited and the day saved, they headed back up towards the surface. Leggy was understandably pleased with herself, though Eyeball was much more jovial than usual.

Doc brought up the rear, thinking to herself, as she was wont to do. _I guess Ruby was right. Sticking together saved the day after all._


	5. Eyeball

Chapter 5: Eyeball

* * *

_Earth. Era 1, Year 5,138,917._

When it all started, she was no different from any other Ruby. She emerged from her hole in the ground like all the others, ready and willing to do battle with any enemy Homeworld sent her towards. She had never guessed that enemy would be other Gems.

At the encampment, reports had just come in of a Crystal Gem attack on one of Homeworld's spires. As always, Rubies were expected to arrive first to the scene. The call went out, and soon every Ruby at the base was rushing to board the dropships. One of them arrived slightly later than the others, taking her place just as the ship was about to take off.

"Glad you could make it!" the Ruby next to her joked.

"Go easy on me, huh?" she said. "I've never been to a battle like this before!"

"Well, this is a void of a one to start with!" her neighbor replied. "These Crystal Gems seem like they mean business."

"Just wait'll I get a hold of 'em!" a third Ruby said. "I could take on Rose Quartz with one arm tied behind my back!" She narrowed her eyes, staring Eyeball in her eyeball. "The one with the gem on it."

"Say," the first Ruby said, "I don't think I've seen you around here before. You a new recruit?"

"Sort of," answered Eyeball. "Ruby Facet 1F4 Cut 4ND. Red Lace Agate had me transferred to Earth once the war broke out."

"The more the merrier," she answered. "You nervous? You seem a bit nervous."

"Just a bit," Eyeball confessed. "What could it be like fighting other Gems? It's just...I never imagined anything like this would ever happen."

"None of us did," said the other Ruby. "But hey, we're Rubies! Strength in numbers, right? As long as we stick together, we'll be fine!"

Not long after they arrived, the Rubies were overwhelmed. Their numbers were no match for the Crystal Gems' ambush tactics and fusions. By the time backup arrived, Eyeball was hunkered down in a divot in the ground, feebly holding her knife. Every other Ruby aboard her ship had fallen in the face of the onslaught. Only a few of the crimson soldiers remained, holding their enemies back as best they could. A battalion of Homeworld Quartzes were attempting to push back their advance.

Left on her own, Eyeball, despite her fear, attempted to face off against one of the fusions. She left her hiding spot and ran towards what seemed to be a small-ish one.

"HEY!" she shouted, getting the fusion's attention. "Face me one-on-one, you coward!"

The fusion turned around, holding a bubble containing several Gems in her hand. Eyeball could now see her face, which had a single large eye surrounded by four smaller ones, as well as two mouths, one on top of the other. She stood up to her full height, towering over the Ruby, revealing that her legs had two knees each. Two more pairs of arms unfurled from around her chest. "Oh, but I _am_ one!" she said, both mouths speaking as one.

The fusion dropped to all-fours, or all-eights as it were, and charged towards Eyeball. She stood her ground, her knife extended towards the threat, but she quickly lost her nerve. As her enemy approached, she seemed fixed to the spot, unable to move; she was frozen in fear. Eyeball could only shut her eye. Just as the fusion drew nearer, and with her, most likely death, a sudden streak of orange intercepted her before she could reach the Ruby, both of them disappearing in a cloud of smoke. When Eyeball's nerve returned to her and she opened her eyes, a single towering figure stood before her, a pair of gemstones lying at her feet.

"Hmph. Fusions," she said. She was a Jasper, larger than any Eyeball had ever seen before. She turned around. Her gem was where her nose would be. "On your feet, soldier! This is no time to rest!" Extending her hand to Eyeball, she brought the Ruby to her feet before charging off into battle once more. The whole ordeal passed in less than thirty seconds, and Eyeball didn't have a chance to say anything to her rescuer.

"N-no time for rest.." she repeated. The fear on her face was now replaced with a look of steadfast determination. Jasper was right: there was a war to be won. It wasn't long before she saw her next target in a Tourmaline sporting Crystal Gem attire. Gripping her knife tightly, she charged. The Tourmaline had the advantage in size and strength, but Eyeball had ferocity. The two grew nearer to one another when Eyeball spied an opportunity; one of her fellow Rubies was locked in combat with another Gem close by.

Using this other Ruby as a springboard, Eyeball propelled herself into the air off her comrade's head just as she and the Tourmaline met. Eyeball slashed across her enemy's face with her knife, driving her to her knees. Sliding along the dirt as she landed, Eyeball then doubled back, leaping into the air and driving her knife into the Tourmaline's back. Her foe fell to the ground, her physical form disappearing in a massive puff of smoke.

Before Eyeball could revel in her victory, more Crystal Gems approached. She turned around to see dozens of them charging towards the spire. Without batting an eye, Eyeball pulled a second knife from her gem, now holding one in each hand. "Just try it," she said quietly.

Needless to say, the Crystal Gem advance was thwarted. For that matter, Eyeball was involved in numerous more missions, both offensive and defensive. Before long, her prowess in battle was noticed. Not long before the Earth War ended, Eyeball was promoted to captain.

It wasn't too big if a ceremony, but it was still much more extravagant than Eyeball had expected. The hall was decorated with red and gold banners, and just about every Ruby in her squadron was present. Eyeball stood at attention atop the dais as Red Lace Agate approached.

"Ruby Facet 1F4 Cut 4ND, for your exemplary performance on the battlefield, and admirable bravery in the face of seemingly insurmountable odds, I hereby present you with the visor of leadership." The Agate handed a yellow visor to Eyeball, who absorbed it into her gem; it then reappeared over her eyes. "Wear it proudly, Ruby!"

Eyeball knew this was the moment she would remember for the rest of her life. From then on, she would strive to be the greatest Ruby she could be. Nay, the greatest Ruby, period. She would strive to be just like Jasper.

* * *

"Former Science Minister Heliodor speaking. Project: Birthstone log entry three. Experiments are progressing with some...difficulty. The Bismuth I had acquired attempted to escape, and as such had to be eliminated. We couldn't risk any Gem leaking information to the Diamonds, else we all be shattered, or worse, Project: Birthstone be shut down. However, this left us wanting for a viable Gem with which to further the experiment. I was forced to…"

Heliodor stood up, walking out of frame. Shuffling could be heard just off-camera. After a minute of two, she returned.

"Why can't they see just how necessary this is? Low on resources as we are, it won't be long before the Interlopers eat us alive! The Cluster likely won't emerge for quite some time, meaning Project: Birthstone is the only thing that will keep us safe, the only way to make enough soldiers to fight them!"

Once again, Heliodor stood up. She walked to the background, and paced for several seconds before returning to her seat.

"Morale is lower than ever before. Just about everyone here refuses to speak unless it's absolutely necessary. The air here is...for lack of a better word, dead." She looked down, sighing. "Subject designated June completed. We'll wait a few days before moving on. End log."


	6. October

Chapter 6: October

* * *

_Rulax-14_

A single Ruby stood guard in front of the main archive, rocking back and forth on her feet. _It's not like anybody's trying to get in here_, she thought to herself. _Now would be an alright time to leave, right? I'll just step away for a bit…_

Navy, after making sure that none of the other Rubies were watching her, slowly slunk away from her position. She crept into one of the maintenance hubs, avoiding Peridots along the way. She slid a panel aside on the back wall, revealing a tiny hole into the caverns, barely big enough for a Ruby to slip through, which is exactly what she did. She then made her way down to the computer room.

"Now, what secrets do you have for me?" she said, opening the files on Project: Birthstone. Ever since they had found it, she had snuck down to the computer whenever she got the chance to decrypt more files. "Log number four...okay, let's get started."

"Thought I'd find you down here!"

Navy turned around. Eyeball was standing behind her, arms crossed. Navy hopped down from her chair. "Ruby! What are you doing down here?"

"Captain saw you were missing, so she made me stand guard instead. Of course, I couldn't just stay there all day, so I went looking for you."

"Ooh, look at you, disobeying orders!" Navy teased. "How did you find me, anyhow?"

"You forgot to replace the panel," Eyeball explained. Navy mentally kicked herself. "But now that we're down here, what are you working on?"

"I'm trying to find out more about Project: Birthstone," Navy said. "If we know more about these creatures ahead of time, we'll be better equipped to fight them."

"Mm," Eyeball said. "What have you found so far?"

"Unfortunately, nothing we didn't already know. Heliodor's a few Rubies short of a squad, and she did..._something_ that the Diamonds didn't approve of. Here, watch."

Navy showed Eyeball the second and third log entries. When they were done, Eyeball shook her head. "This is bad business," she said. "If you ask me, we should just leave all this down here. I-what are you looking at?"

Navy had glanced at something in the distance past Eyeball. "I don't know," she said. "I thought I saw something."

"Of course," Eyeball growled. Knowing exactly what was coming, she preemptively readied her knife, Navy doing the same with her fan. The pair slowly crept in the direction Navy indicated. "What did it look like?"

"I couldn't see it very clearly," Navy said, "I just saw movement."

"Well, let's just hope it doesn't jump on us like last ti-"

Eyeball was interrupted when a creature materialized out of thin air, slashing at her back and throwing her to the ground. Navy tried to slice it with her knife, but it vanished, reappearing a few feet away.

The white creature possessed a small body, but stood on a pair of long, birdlike legs. It had no other limbs, save for a pair of mandibles next to a sideways mouth. An oblong Opal gemstone was visible on its forehead. It screeched at the pair, before disappearing from view with a series of teleports.

Navy helped Eyeball up off the ground. "Urgh...I'm starting to notice a trend here," the latter groaned.

"It's forehead…" said Navy. "Did you see its gem?"

"Actually, I was too busy focusing on its claws. Specifically, the ones that were in by back." Light shone from three gashes in Eyeball's back.

"It was an Opal!" Navy said. "How did she get one of those? I get how she got a Zircon, even an Amethyst, but how did she get an Opal for her experiments without anyone knowing about them?"

"Based on those videos, I don't think she asked," Eyeball replied, picking up her knife. "Come on, let's go get it."

"What happened to leaving all this down here?" Navy asked.

"That was before it did this," said Eyeball, pointing to her scratches.

* * *

The pair continued deeper into the maze of caverns and tunnels. They met the creature several times, but whenever they tried to attack it, it would teleport away, slash at them with its talons, and warp away. Rinse and repeat.

"This is really starting to get old," Eyeball grumbled. How are we supposed to catch this thing?"

"We just have to be smarter than it," Navy said.

"I like to think I already am," said Eyeball. "I refuse to be outsmarted by some organic freak!"

_It's a bit too late for that_, Navy thought. "If you're smarter than it, do you have any plans?"

"Just one," she answered. "Let's do what we did last time."

Before long, Navy was standing where Leggy was not long ago, in the same room no less. She resisted the urge to look behind her, knowing the creature would only attack if it thought she was unaware of its presence.

Eyeball sat behind the same rock as before, going over the plan in her head. _If I can just get to it without it knowing, I can hit it before it warps. I just need the right timing…_

Eyeball sat watching for the creature with such intensity that she did not notice it appearing right behind her. It struck out with its talons once more, though Eyeball was just able to deflect them with her knife at the last moment. She rolled to the side, putting the rock in between her and the beast. Navy rushed over to the commotion, and the creature, seeing her approach, screeched at Eyeball before vanishing once more.

"Is it something about me?" Eyeball wondered. "Do organics just hate me specifically?"

"That could have gone better," said Navy. "And it wasn't that bad a plan, either."

"It worked last time," Eyeball said. "I don't suppose you have any ideas?"

Navy thought for a minute. "Well, I think I might have something. But I'll need you to cooperate."

Eyeball rolled her eye. "Couldn't hurt, I suppose."

Soon, Eyeball found herself alone in a hallway. She had her knife brandished, looking around for the creature. "Come and get me, you ugly sack of chitin!" she shouted. "Face me one-on-one, you coward!"

Eyeball postured menacingly with her knife, hoping all here shouting would draw it towards her. Sure enough, she soon heard the sound of talons scraping across the floor as it ran towards her. She turned around and ducked under its kick, whirling around to face it. It stared directly at her, scraping the tiles with its leg. The two combatants charged at the other, meeting in a clash of knife and talon.

Standing on a catwalk above, Navy observed the situation. She climbed over the railings once Eyeball started to fight with the creature. "Just gotta line it up," she whispered to herself. "Come on, come on, come on…" She waited until the creature was directly below her, before she plunged from her perch.

Navy had played her cards right, as she landed directly on the creature's back. She clung to the only handhold she could find, which was its leg. The creature's first response to this was to teleport away, which took Navy along with it. Exactly as she had predicted.

The creature thrashed here and there, teleporting all the while. Navy hung on as hard as she could, but it was moving too much for her to summon her weapon.

"Ruby! I'm gonna try to lead it over to you! Get your weapon ready!" Due to the teleportation, her voice changed locations every three words.

"I understood, like, half of that!" Eyeball said. She nevertheless got the gist, running to get within stabbing range of the beast.

Navy struggled to get the creature under control, pulling on its leg. This accomplished nothing. Instead, she kicked at a wall the creature was running past just as it teleported. This resulted in it stumbling when it reappeared, falling down in its face. Navy likewise lost her grip. The creature stood up by the time Eyeball reached them, and warped away, but not before she got a glimpse of its face.

"Did you see that?" she asked, helping Navy to her feet. "It's gem was cracked! We've almost got it!"

The creature was indeed taking a toll. It continued to teleport, though judging by its reactions it had no control over its destination.

"We can use this!" Eyeball shouted. "Throw your weapon!"

Navy did so, but the creature was still too unpredictable. "How do we hit it?" she asked.

"I don't know, just throw randomly!" replied Eyeball. Navy flung her fans in every direction, hoping one would connect. Soon enough, it did, winging the beast and making it stumble. Eyeball ran towards it, leaping into the air and driving her knife downwards. However, it was glaring at Navy, and teleported once more. It reappeared not far from her, and sprinted in her direction, now aware its warping was no longer reliable.

The creature leapt towards her, its talons outstretched. Navy was ready for it, however. Leaning to the side, she slashed outwards with her fan, the creature coming to a rest just behind her. It stood still for a moment, before collapsing to the ground.

"Ha! That's how it's done!" shouted Eyeball. She rushed over to join her fellow Ruby. "I knew we could do it!"

"You certainly did," Navy said, exhausted.

"Say, how did you know it would teleport with you like that?" Eyeball asked.

"I know from experience that if you cling on to an Opal when she teleports, you'll go with her. Don't ask me how I know that. Now, can we please get out of here?"

"What happened to wanting to know more about Project: Birthstone?" Eyeball asked.

"That was before this thing showed up," she said. "I think I've had enough action for a while. Let's just get back to base and tell the others."

And then they did just that.


	7. Army

Chapter 7: Army

* * *

_Volrekk. Era 2 Year 2,364._

"Let's see...I'd probably go with...fuse with Ruby, destabilize Ruby, shatter Ruby."

A pair of Rubies stood guard outside a spire on Volrekk, a colony of White Diamond's. A fairly innocuous planet, it was not exactly bustling with activity, though it was much more lively than Rulax-14.

"Really? I'm surprised you went with Ruby."

"Eh, what can I say? She's grown on me in the past few years."

While the two talked, another Ruby overlooked the city from a balcony a few floors up. She scowled as she stared, her gem on her left arm.

"Ruby! What are you doing out there?" came the voice of Red Lace Agate. The Ruby who would later be known as Army turned to face her.

"I'm standing guard, Red Lace Agate!" she said. "If we're attacked, I want to be the first to know!"

The Agate sighed. "8XL, you were assigned guard duty, not lookout duty. Get down there with the other Rubies."

Army knew better than to protest, so she begrudgingly went downstairs to stand guard. Red Lace looked out over the balcony towards the Omicron Kindergarten only a few miles from the spire. She looked down, seeing Army standing a few feet away from the other Rubies, who continued to talk. She sighed once more, heading downstairs as well.

"Ruby Facet 19 Cut 8XL, I have a new assignment for you!" Army looked towards her. "Come with me."

Both Ruby and Agate boarded a monorail towards the Kindergarten. Army stood at attention at her Agate's feet, who looked down at her. "Ruby," Red said, "I've noticed you are always reluctant to work with other Rubies. Is there any particular reason you prefer to work alone?"

"No, Red Lace Agate," said Army. "I just don't get along with other Rubies too well."

"That could be a problem. After all, Rubies are at their strongest when united, whether fused together or simply fighting side by side."

Army looked to the side. "Not to contradict you, My Agate, but the Rubies around here are...lacking in basic combat prowess."

Red Lace smirked. "I take it you got that from the reports?" The Ruby nodded. "Well, it's true, unfortunately. Come here, let me show you something."

The train having arrived at its destination, the pair disembarked and descended down into the Kindergarten. No Gems had yet emerged, but the injectors still clung to the sides of the canyon.

"It's true that many modern Gems haven't exactly lived up to Homeworld's old standards, but there's a good reason for that. Planets with organics have become harder and harder to find. The ones we do find barely have enough resources to form more Gems, so we have to stretch them thin. As a result, the Gems that come out are...lacking. Some of them are smaller, weaker, dumber, and many don't have their powers." Red Lace Agate placed her hand on the canyon wall. "That's why planets like this are so important. When we first discovered Volrekk, it was the most perfect planet Homeworld had found in centuries. The organic level was perfect. The Gems here...well, they'll most certainly help us in our struggle against-"

"Interlopers," said Army.

"Yes, exactly."

"No, look!" Army pointed into the sky. An Interloper dropship had descended past the skyline and towards the city. The sound of the ship opening fire could be heard over the cliff. Several Scavengers slid down the cliffside, firing on an injector above the two Gems.

The injector gave way, falling down towards them. Before Army could blink, Red Lace Agate had summoned her trident, throwing it at the injector with enough force to redirect its path to just avoid hitting them. "You protect the Kindergarten, I'll take care of the ship!" shouted the Agate, destroying some of the Scavengers on her way out.

Army summoned her mace, which hit the ground hard enough to make a small divot. She ducked behind the injector to avoid incoming beams, before leaping over it towards her foes. She smashed one of the robots as she fell, before knocking a second off its feet, finishing it with a downwards blow to the head.

Another Interloper walked towards her, this one larger than the other two: a Predator. Snarling, Army charged at it, only to be blown backwards by its arm cannon. She collided with the wall, her weapon vanishing. The Predator walked closer, its footfalls shaking the canyon. Army got to her feet, as the machine charged up to fire again.

Before it could destabilize Army, it was interrupted by something falling onto its head. The two Rubies had attacked it, one hitting its head, the other hitting its legs. Its cannon discharged, narrowly missing Army, who charged once more.

The Predator reached up and grabbed the first Ruby, throwing her at Army, which caused the two to tumble to the ground. The second was kicked towards them, as the Interloper charged up once more. The trio was seemingly outclassed, but then Army had an idea.

"Rubies! Fuse up!" she shouted. The three of them formed a pyramid, combining their physical forms into a single, giant Ruby. The Predator's gun discharged, hitting the Ruby in the side. She was unfazed, striking back with a mighty left hook. Metal buckled as the machine fell to the ground. The Ruby followed up with a powerful stomp before it could recover, smashing it to scrap. With no other Interlopers nearby, they unfused.

As they congratulated each other, a familiar face slid down the side of the canyon. "Excellent work, Rubies!" said Red Lace Agate. "I've received reports that all Interloper activity in this sector has ceased. The ones here today were a remnant from a force that was destroyed several light years from here. Either way, thanks to your teamwork, the Gems here have a bright future."

The Rubies beamed. In particular, Army seemed quite pleased. Perhaps working side by side with other Rubies could be a rewarding experience.

* * *

"Former Science Minister Heliodor speaking. Project: Birthstone log entry four."

Heliodor, rather than being seated, was pacing back and forth in front of the camera. Dark bags were noticeable beneath her eyes.

"This is the only way. Nothing else seems to be working." She stopped pacing, and sat down. "When I first started Project: Birthstone in secret, it wasn't just a way to continue my research. It was also a way to create weapons capable of reestablishing Homeworld's dominance. I had intended it to be a way to create soldiers from any Gem. If a Gem emerged off-colored, she could be geo-transferred into an organic body: a way to recycle those with no use to Homeworld. Unfortunately, I had overestimated the capabilities of geo-transference."

"With the Cluster, thousands of Gem shards were at my disposal. It wasn't so much the power that was the selling point, but the size. A beast as big as a planet. With this, Homeworld's superiority would never again be doubted. But with Project: Birthstone...the hybrids are only as powerful as the Gem they're combined with."

She looked over some data that the camera could not see. "If I want to take geo-transference and Project: Birthstone to its full potential, I'll have to take risks. I have known this since the beginning, but I tried to avoid it if possible. But it's the only way. End log."


	8. June

Chapter 8: June

* * *

_Rulax-14._

Moss Agate sat in the darkness of her office, only illuminated by the light of her holo-screen, and barely backlit by a low window. She was, as she always was, sorting through records of communications that had passed through Rulax-14. While she skimmed over hundreds of inane dialogue, she contemplated the events that had occurred ever since the band of Rubies arrived. Part of her was glad they were there, taking care of any organic threat that showed up. Another part, however, believed them to be the cause of the monstrous invaders, what with their snooping around in the caverns, and resented them for it.

As she scanned document after document of babbling, a shadow moving past her window caught her eye. She glanced outside, expecting it to be one of the Peridots, but when she looked, nothing was there. She put down the holo-screen and headed outside, wearing an expression of irritation at being interrupted, but secretly grateful for any opportunity to take a break.

"Hello?" she called as she rounded the small building. "Why are you out here and not at your post?" She was met with only silence. Confused, she looked around, seeing nothing. No Gem was visible; not even a single Ruby standing guard at the hall of records. She made a mental note to reprimand them for it later. She was about to return to her office, when she heard a noise behind her. She turned around.

A low, growling sound emanated from around a corner. An enormous beast suddenly rounded the corner: as tall as the Agate herself, it was four-legged, and covered in orange and black fur. Moss Agate was not fond of organics of any kind, but this specimen looked particularly deadly. It was all she could do to stifle a gasp.

The monster turned, slinking silently in her direction. Her rational mind attempted to calm herself, to remind her that she was most likely stronger than it, but fear prevented her from moving, let alone fighting.

The animal's piercing green eyes seemed to stare right through her as it crouched low to the ground. Fast as lightning, it pounced at her, it's enormous claws aimed at her chest. Moss Agate screamed, covering her eyes and attempting to shield herself. But no impact came. Once Moss Agate gained the courage to open her eyes, the creature had vanished, leaving not even footprints.

Before long, two of the Rubies ran over to her. "Is something wrong, Moss Agate?" asked Leggy.

Moss Agate looked around. "I...I think another organic monster is around here," she said. "It leapt at me, but then it just...disappeared!"

Navy placed her hand on her chin. "Hmm...did it have a Gemstone?"

"I don't think so," Moss said, "but It happened too quick to get a good look!"

The conversation was interrupted by a vibration beneath their feet. It was very slight, barely noticeable. But notice it they did. Moss Agate yelped.

"It can disappear _and_ shake the ground!?" Leggy said. "I'm not sure I want to go after this one!"

The trio was suddenly joined by Doc, running over from the main hall. "Rubies!" she shouted. "Moss Agate," she added respectfully before continuing. "Gear up, we're going back underground! We just saw an organic!"

"You saw it too?" said Navy.

"Mm-hmm," Doc said with a nod. "It was this big," she said, indicating a creature much smaller than herself, "and it was blue, and it had wings and feathers!"

Moss Agate was confused. "Blue? Wings?"

"Yup. It was flying around inside the hall. I tried to catch it, but it flew into the wall, and it disappeared!"

"That, or it went through the wall," added Eyeball, who had joined them.

"Hmm...I feel like there's more going on here than we know," said Moss Agate. "Either way, get down there and take care of it before we get attacked again!"

Once more, the five Rubies descended the staircases into the heart of the planetoid. "Alright Rubies, you know the drill," Doc said. "We'll comb the caverns until we find it, and then we beat the living-"

She trailed off, seeing something down one of the caverns nobody had expected to see anywhere on Rulax-14: a forest. A dense, deciduous forest, complete with green grass, running water, and a wide open sky. It was as if they were staring through a portal.

"Huh," Navy said breathlessly. "That's new."

"Have we been here before?" asked Leggy.

"I think I'd remember a bunch a' trees down here!" said Army.

"I'm willing to bet that the organic is down there," Doc said, "so that's where we'll go."

"Which one, the big orange one or the tiny blue one?" asked Navy. "Because I know which one _I'd_ rather look for!" Nevertheless, the troupe entered the forest.

It was exactly like a forest had spontaneously appeared in the middle of the planet. The Rubies could feel the grass beneath their feet, could see insects darting here and there through the reeds by the river, and could hear the calls of various animals around them.

"Well, it seems real enough," said Doc, tapping the bark of a tree. "How does a whole place just suddenly show up here?"

"I dunno, but you know what this place reminds me of?" said Navy. "Earth. Even the clouds look like the same."

"Yeah, it kinda does!" Leggy said. "Maybe this is where Heliodor kept her monsters."

"Speaking of…" said Eyeball, holding out her arm. There, in the middle of a clearing, surrounded by animals, was a human, dressed in blue robes. Their back was turned to the Rubies, and the animals stood eerily still.

"Let's get this over with," said Eyeball, drawing her knife. She sprinted towards the human, who whipped around upon hearing her. Its skin was pale, and its eyes were glossy and unfocused. Its mouth hung half-open. A yellow Pearl was placed in its left palm, which was extended in front of it.

Eyeball's assault was cut short when several of the furry creatures buffeted her to the side with their mass. The human seemed to direct its surroundings with its gem: as soon as it had been attacked, the skies turned dark and stormy, and the healthy trees became gnarled and twisted. It retreated further into the forest as the trees seemed to close in on the Rubies, forming a maze of wood and branches.

While none of the Rubies were happy with this turn of events, Leggy seemed the most upset. "R-Ruby?" she called out. "Ruby? Ruby!? Is anyone there!?" She ran through the trees, becoming scratched up by the branches she hurried past. "Hello!? Anyone!?"

For a few seconds that seemed like hours, nobody replied to the tiny Ruby's cries. At last, a voice called out through the darkness: "Newbie? Can you hear me?" came the voice of Doc.

"C-captain?" Leggy said. "I can't see anything, where are you?"

"I don't know, everybody got separated!" said Doc. It was hard to tell exactly where her voice was coming from.

"W-what do we do?" asked Leggy.

"We need to take down that organic," Doc said. "The real one, not these holograms. See if you can find it."

"Find it? B-but I...I'm…"

"You're what?" asked Doc, although she knew the answer.

"...scared. I'm too scared to fight it." Leggy finished, barely loud enough for her captain to hear.

"Ruby, listen to me," Doc said. "Being scared isn't the same thing as being weak. You can do this."

"But c-captain, I-"

"You are a Ruby!" yelled Doc. "You are a warrior!"

"I...I am a Ruby…" said Leggy. "But I'm not a-no. I _am_ a warrior. I am a Ruby. I am a warrior. I am a Ruby! I am a warrior! I AM A RUBY! I AM A WARRIOR!" Leggy summoned her shovel, and began to viciously strike at the tree branches near her. As the branches snapped, they flickered like a visual glitch on a computer screen. Soon, Leggy burned so hot the trees around her caught on fire.

"I AM A RUBY! I AM A WARRIOR!" Leggy repeated her mantra as she raged through the burning woods. All of a sudden, the ground began to rumble again. This caused the illusion to drop for mere seconds. Leggy caught a glimpse of her target several meters away. She sprinted towards it, still chanting.

Various birds and woodland creatures appeared from the air around the human, but Leggy struck them aside with her shovel, where they vanished. She spun around, flinging her weapon towards the enemy with a cry of "SHOVEL!"

Said shovel collided with the human's forehead, causing it to stumble. The illusion flickered momentarily, allowing the other Rubies to see its location. Leggy reclaimed her weapon, valiantly facing the fiend as the forest fire raged around them.

"I am a Ruby," she said. "I am a warrior."

The human attempted to summon more holographic animals, but Leggy charged it before it could do so. She swiped her shovel underneath its legs, sending it flying to its face. Doc arrived just then, delivering the finishing blow to the malevolent being with her blade.

Almost instantly, the burning forest around them vanished. Trees, water, and sky faded away, replaced with the stony tunnels of Rulax-14's underground.

"Urgh. Well, that's that," Army said.

"No more holograms," said Navy. "But I wonder...how was it making everything shake like that?"

"It brought Earth here, didn't it?" Army said. "I guess that includes earth_quakes_, too."

Leggy, who was standing proudly, fell on her behind. "Huh, I guess I _am_ a warrior." she said.

Doc placed her hand on the young Ruby's shoulder. "Of course you are, newbie!"

Eyeball walked up to her. "Good work, cadet," she said. "I heard you calling for help. I tried to call back, but the trees forced me into the water. I was worried at first, but once you started chanting, I knew you could do it!"

"I wanted to help, too!" said Navy. "Those trees were too thick for me to cut through with my fan. It must have taken a lot of strength to slice through 'em!"

"You see?" said Doc. "Even if you're by yourself, you're never really alone. Know why?"

"Because I'm a Ruby?" asked Leggy.

"_And_ a warrior!" Doc answered.

After sharing a group hug, the squad made their way towards the surface. Navy turned to Doc. "I've been thinking…" she said.

"That seems to be your trademark," Doc answered. "What about?"

"Well, these Project: Birthstone creatures keep coming after us. I wouldn't care if they just stayed down here, but they seem really dangerous."

"Yup," Doc said. "That's why we take 'em down."

"That's what I was thinking," Navy said. "Eleven canisters, eleven monsters, maybe more. If you ask me, we should come down here regularly to stop them before they hurt anyone else."

"Sounds like a plan!" said Doc. Eyeball trailed several paces behind them.

_I'm a Ruby and a warrior too_, she thought. _I've taken on hundreds of Homeworld's enemies. So why was I so afraid when it mattered?_


	9. Navy

Chapter 9: Navy

* * *

_Volrekk. Era 2 Year 4,987._

"Just through here, Red Lace Agate," the Peridot said, leading the latter into a back room, where something, or someone, was being kept.

"You're keeping her back here?" the Agate said. "Surely she can't be dangerous…"

"Well, the boss said not to keep her up front, said the Peridot. "All the other Rubies are scared of her…"

Red Lace Agate didn't quite believe this statement. Unless she was off-colored, which she had been informed this Ruby was not, how frightening could one Ruby be? The pair entered the darkened room, lit only by a dim light on the ceiling. A single Ruby sat across a table, facing away from them. "Well, good luck, Red Lace Agate," the Peridot said. With that, she left the two red Gems alone in the room.

Red sat in the seat opposite the Ruby. "So, I take it you're Ruby Facet G6 Cut 4AV. I've heard a lot about you."

The Ruby turned around. "Good things or bad things?" she asked with a smile. Her gemstone was on her navel.

"I want to say a bit of both, but I'll be honest: it's been mostly bad. On the one hand, I've been told that you're very smart, much smarter than the average Ruby."

"Aww…" Navy said, blushing.

"And on the other hand, you've been using that intelligence to manipulate and trick your fellow Rubies, get away with disobeying your superiors, blame your exploits on your facet-mates, and have taken a Roaming Eye out for an unauthorized joyride on _at least_ one occasion."

"_Youcan'tprovethatwasme_!" the Ruby said rapidly, her cheerful demeanor faltering for a mere moment. "Ahem...I mean, that wasn't me, that was, um, 4AS. She has a belly gem too, you see."

Red looked at the files she had been given. "Well then, she must have a pretty big belly for her gem to be _on her forehead_!"

Still smiling, Navy's eyes darted from side to side. "Shoot," she said quietly.

"So, Ruby, let's get down to why I'm here," said Red Lace. "Now, as I'm sure you are aware, Rubies are not supposed to be smart. Not to your degree, anyhow. Some Gems would call your intelligence a risk, which I can certainly understand. Most Gems of my position see Rubies as grunts meant to be easily controlled, and would most likely be threatened by your intellect."

"A risk? Naw, who could be threatened by little ol' me?" Navy said while attempting to undo her cuffs without Red noticing. The Agate shot her a stern look.

"That's where I come in. Where some see a liability, I see an asset. With proper guidance, your sharp thinking could come in very handy to Homeworld."

"Wow, that sounds very interesting!" said Navy, who had undone the locks on her cuffs. "I have an appointment right now so I'll have to call you back, bye!" The Ruby bolted for the door, but didn't get far.

Red Lace Agate caught her by the head, without so much as a glance, before she could get out the door. "I don't think so," she muttered. She lifted Navy, who was grinning sheepishly, up to eye level, before continuing with her spiel. "The point I'm trying to make is, if you continue acting like a sly little trickster, your higher-ups will see you as a threat, and have you dealt with."

"So what, big deal!" Navy said with a shrug. "I'm smart enough to watch my back. They can't harvest me if they can't catch me!"

Red Lace Agate placed the Ruby on the table. "I don't want it to come to that," she said. "You've got so much potential, and I don't want you to waste it on being a fugitive."

"And why, might I ask, do you care so much?" asked Navy. "I'm just one Ruby among many. I can't be _that_ special...can I?" She lay down on her side and began fanning herself with her weapon.

"That's a load of shard, and you know it," the Agate said. "I'll bet you knew just how special you were from the moment you crawled out of your hole."

"Sheesh, no need to be rude about it!" Navy said, reclining with her hands behind her head. "But yes, I _did_ know. You're quite perceptive yourself, you know that?"

Red Lace Agate placed her hand over her gemstone, preparing to summon her trident. "Just give me a reason, you little twerp!" she said, before calming herself down. "You see? That's what I was talking about! You're so good at manipulating people!"

Navy had stood up, more than ready to make a break for it once the Agate lost her temper. "Um...so what are you proposing?"

"Look: like I said earlier, any other Agate isn't going to take kindly to your shenanigans. Come with me, and we won't have to go down that road. Understand?"

"I certainly do!" came Navy's chipper reply.

"You do realize this requires you to listen to me, right?"

"I was afraid of that," she mumbled.

"You know what your problem is?" said Red Lace. "You don't care how your crazy schemes affect others. You're perfectly willing to throw your fellow Gems to the wayside if it's convenient for you."

"Well, why _should_ I care?" asked Navy. "It's not like they'd do any different for me."

The Agate grinned. "Ah. I see exactly what the problem is."

* * *

"Former Science Minister Heliodor speaking. Project: Birthstone log entry five. I must say, despite all my worrying, the last few test subjects have turned out very nicely! Once the gloom regarding June had cleared, I was struck with inspiration! The first of my latest creations, February, exceeded my expectations, and October is my favorite so far!"

Heliodor could barely contain her excitement. "I've let my fear of persecution by Homeworld hold me back for too long! Sure, I may be doing the exact thing that got me kicked out of the Council of Beryls, but does that really matter when the advancement of our race is concerned?"

"My Heliodor," said an offscreen voice, "we're having some trouble with containment. October is proving difficult to control-"

"Of _course_ it's difficult to control, it's a weapon!" Heliodor snapped. "We didn't increase their aggression for no reason!"

"Of course, My Heliodor, it's just that, with its ability to teleport, it-"

"Cinnabar, I am in the middle of recording a log! Put it into a cryo-chamber or something, but don't bother me right now!"

There was silence for a short while. "Yes, My Heliodor," the voice said. It was evident from Heliodor's demeanor that the other Gem had left the room.

"Some Gems, I swear," Heliodor muttered. "Next up on my agenda are the subjects September and November, and maybe January if everything goes well. After that, I have a special surprise in store!" Heliodor cackled with glee. "End log."


	10. January

Chapter 10: January

* * *

_Rulax-14._

"After it! It's getting away!" shouted Doc. A black and red shape streaked through the air, the five Rubies chasing after it.

"I know that!" yelled Eyeball. "How is that thing so quick!?" As if in answer to her question, the creature doubled back above them. Vaguely spherical in shape, on top of the creature was a deep red Garnet gemstone, and its bottom held a circular mouth filled with sharp teeth concealed by numerous membranous tentacles.

"Now what's it doing?" Army asked. The creature, in a flash of red light, blipped through a stalactite faster than could be perceived. The stalactite was severed from the ceiling, falling towards the Rubies.

"Look out!" Doc shouted. The five of them dove to the sides, and were thrown further when the stone collided with the ground. The floating creature circled around the point of impact as if taunting them, before flying off into the distance.

Army chased after it for a few feet, swinging impotently with her mace. "Is that all you got? Come on, get back here!"

Eyeball groaned, shoving some rocks off her as she stood up. "I'm seriously getting tired of these things," she said.

Doc dusted herself off. "I think we all are. Right now, we have to find it before it before it tries to eat anybody else!" Like the other Project: Birthstone subjects, this one had been attacking Gems above-ground, and the Rubies were called on to take it down.

The Rubies set off down the caves in the general direction of the creature. Wherever this thing had gone, it was deeper into the planet than they had been before. They walked in relative silence, though Navy was clearly deeper in thought than the others. Approaching Doc, she asked the latter something she had been thinking about for a while:

"Captain...do you have a moment?"

"Meh," she responded.

"Okay, good, because I have a lot to say! So, I've been watching some of Heliodor's logs, some of the stuff seems pretty...ominous, for lack of a better word."

Eyeball butted in from behind them. "She's already reanimating dead organics using unwilling Gems. What about that isn't ominous enough for you?"

"That isn't what I meant," Navy said, glaring at her. "I mean, not only does she seem a bit, well, unhinged, but the way she's talking about these experiments makes me think something else is going on."

"You mean in addition to Project: Birthstone?" asked Eyeball.

"Not exactly. In the logs, she seemed upset at how some of the earlier subjects weren't coming out right. She said something about needing more powerful Gems. Think about it: the first one of these monsters we saw was part Zircon, but this one here is a Pyrope! You know?"

"Are you going somewhere with this, or are you just venting?" asked Doc.

"Don't you see?" said Navy. "She started with lesser-caste Gems, and she worked her way up the system! Now, we don't know what all the monsters are yet, but isn't it obvious where this ends?"

Doc seemed confused, but Eyeball rolled her eye. "Tell me you aren't going where I think you're going," she grumbled.

"But it makes perfect sense!" said Navy defensively. "She started with Pearls and Zircons, so don't you think she'd make one of her things using a Diamond?"

"Ruby, you sound ridiculous," Eyeball groaned. "There's no way in void one of those things has a Diamond sticking out of it!"

"Okay, maybe it sounds a bit far-fetched when you say it like that," Navy admitted, "but how else would you explain the Anti-Gem?"

Eyeball groaned. "The Anti-what?" Doc asked, befuddled.

"Look, Ruby," said Eyeball, "I honestly don't care what you believe, but you can't really believe in the predictions of some million-year-old Sapphire who couldn't even predict her own shattering."

"Oh, _that_," Doc said. "I'm sorry, but I have to agree with Ruby here. There's no way even a Heliodor could pull something like that off."

"Come on, guys," Navy argued. "When has a Sapphire's prediction ever been wrong?"

"Like fifty percent of the time," said Eyeball.

The group had stopped walking now, consumed by their argument. "Not to intrude," said Leggy, "but what exactly is the Anti-Gem?"

"A rumor," said Eyeball. "Some Sapphire predicted that Homeworld would be destroyed by some half-gem, half-organic thing called the Anti-Gem."

"And what have we spent the last several weeks fighting?" said Navy. "If ever the Anti-Gem was to exist, Project: Birthstone would be the perfect place for it to be made!"

"Oh, please," Eyeball said. "There's no way a Diamond/organic hybrid exists. There are only fo-three Diamonds, so where would Heliodor even get one?"

"That's enough philosophical discussion for one day," interrupted Doc. "Right now, we've got a creature to find."

Eyeball walked ahead, as Leggy approached Navy. "So...what was all that about?"

Navy turned to her as they walked. "You've heard The Tale of Star Ruby and Star Sapphire before, haven't you?"

"Doesn't ring a bell," said Leggy.

"Well, we don't have time for me to tell you the whole thing, but here's the important part: long ago, there was a Sapphire who could only predict things that would happen in the distant future. She was an outcast for centuries, until one day, one of her predictions came true."

"Was it the one about the Anti-Gem?" asked Leggy.

"No, that one came later. But, because her predictions were always accurate, no matter how far-fetched they seemed, it was almost like the stars themselves spoke to her. So she was given the name Star Sapphire."

The Rubies soon reached some sort of cavern leading into the darkness. "Hold on," Doc said. "Ruby, you go check it out first." Army obliged.

"So, when does the Anti-Gem show up?" asked Leggy.

"That was one of her final predictions before her ship crashed," said Navy. "I don't remember exactly how it went, but it was something like 'From the ashes of devastation shall a new being arise. Born of two worlds and made from light and flesh, it is the Anti-Gem. Wielding the full power of a Diamond, this beast will fly to Homeworld and end our empire in its totality. It will be the end of an era.' Or, you know, something like that."

"Wow, sounds ominous," said Leggy. "You don't think that could actually happen, do you?"

"I hope not, but all of Star Sapphire's other predictions came true so far. Even the Earth War. But it seems to me like not everyone believes it anymore…"

"But, how could something that's half-Diamond even exist?" Leggy asked.

"Beats me," said Navy. "Some Gems thought it meant Rose Quartz, and others think it was talking about the Interlopers. Personally, I like to think it's a metaphor for...something. But with Project: Birthstone, I'm not so sure anymore."

Leggy thought for a minute. "So, then, what-"

She was interrupted when the ground beneath them suddenly began to violently shake. Doc and Eyeball braced themselves against nearby rock formations, while Leggy and Navy clung to one another. The flying creature, disturbed by the quake, shot up out of the cave at startling speed. It flew in circles above the group before trying to divebomb them.

"Hey guys, I found it!" Army shouted from in the hole.

Doc swung her sword at it, trying to hit it as it flew past her. "Feel free to help!" she shouted to the others.

Navy summoned a fan, winding up to throw it at the creature. "I'm sorry, Ruby, you were cut off earlier. What were you going to say?"

Leggy was hiding beneath her shovel. "I can't really remember," she said. "Maybe we should focus on that thing right now."

Navy threw her fan, but the creature blinked out of the way. "Good idea," she said.

The creature dove towards Army, enveloping her with its tentacles. The Ruby gasped in surprise as she attempted to free herself from its grasp.

The others ran towards her. The creature tried to fly upwards, but it could only get so high as it was weighed down by Army.

"Get me out of here, it's biting me!" the Ruby yelled. Doc leapt up, barely managing to grab on to the beast.

"Don't just stand there, pull!" she said. The other Rubies formed a chain, pulling the creature towards the ground. It tried to blink away, but it was dragged down by the Rubies. This resulted in it slamming into the ground, stunning it and causing to release its grip on Army. The Ruby stood up and smashed her mace down on the creature as hard as she could manage. This was apparently enough to finish the job, as the creature no longer moved.

The Rubies dusted themselves off once more. "I'd call that another successful mission!" said Doc, trying to lighten the mood. Eyeball wasn't having any of it.

"Whatever. Let's just get back to the surface before we get hit with another quake."

"Oh yeah, the quake," said Leggy. "So, if it wasn't the last monster causing them, was it something else?"

Army shrugged. "I dunno. Maybe all organics can do that. We just never noticed before." Leggy considered this possibility as the five walked back topside.

"Ruby," Leggy said to Navy, "I remembered what I wanted to ask you: if Star Sapphire could predict the future like that, what did Star Ruby do?"

"Oh, Star Ruby! Well, if I remember right, she was a great warrior who protected Star Sapphire. The legend says that Star Sapphire was shattered, Star Ruby went into exile on a far-off planet; nobody knows where it is!"

Leggy was intrigued. "What happened next?"

"Star Ruby hid her weapon, the Corundum Cleaver, in a secret cave so hot, that only a Ruby could enter it!"

"Wow…" said Leggy. "Do you believe that?"

"I think I do," said Navy. "Of course, I have no way of knowing for sure. But it _could_ be true…"


	11. Leggy

Chapter 11: Leggy

* * *

_Volrekk. Era 2 Year 5,743._

Red Lace Agate walked down the empty canyon, the empty holes on the walls her only company. Kindergartens were always eerie once they were empty. New Gems emerging was always a momentous occasion, and the canyons were filled with life and celebration. Once the surrounding area had been drained dry, and all the Gems that were going to be born had been, the silence pierced one's form like a knife.

This Kindergarten was different than most of those mentioned, as it still had more to give. Gems still had yet to emerge, and the Agate was searching for one of them. She had just received a message from Yellow Diamond: Jasper had vanished on Earth, and the Peridot she was escorting had gone rogue. She was to send out a team of Rubies on a retrieval mission to bring back what may be Homeworld's greatest warrior.

Unfortunately for her, only four of her Rubies were available, and Homeworld policy required no fewer than five Rubies on an assignment this far from Gem space. The fifth Ruby to complete the squad was what Red Lace Agate was now searching for. While most of the Gems in this Kindergarten had emerged already, several sections of the wall still had no holes in them.

_I don't even know why I bother_, she thought to herself as she trudged through the dirt. _I mean, do I really believe that a Ruby is just going to fall from the sky?_ She looked upwards hopefully, only to be disappointed when no Ruby fell onto her head. She reluctantly continued onwards, resuming what she believed to be a fruitless search.

She walked down the canyon, grumbling to herself all the while, until she came across a familiar face. A Peridot doing routine inspections on the Kindergarten spotted her, running up to the red Gem. "Red Lace Agate!" she said, saluting. "What are you doing down here in the dirt?"

"At ease," the Agate said. "Just got a new mission from the Diamonds, and I'm gonna need one more Ruby to complete a squad. You know this place better than I do; tell me, any new arrivals?"

"Ah, sending them out into unknown space, huh?" the Peridot said. "None yet, though there are some ways to tell if emergence is imminent. For example, you can see little flecks of dirt being displaced at the foot of a potential hole. Here, let's see if we can find some!"

Peridot led Agate down the path she had come down, searching for something the latter had not noticed. "Here, like this!" she said. "If you look closely, you can see the soil being pushed aside!" Red Lace Agate looked close, and she indeed saw the dirt moving at the base of the canyon. "I estimate that a Ruby should emerge here any moment now!"

Red Lace watched eagerly as she waited for the Ruby to emerge from the earth. "So...is it supposed to take this long?"

"Eh, yes and no," said Peridot. "It isn't an exact science." After waiting for several minutes, it became clear that the Ruby would not emerge. "Hang on, something's wrong." Peridot leaned closer towards the cliff wall.

"What's the matter?" asked Red.

"There's not enough displacement here," said Peridot. "I think she might be overcooked."

Agate muttered something about taking what she could get, when a tiny face popped out of the soil. The small Gem looked around at her surroundings, seeing the world for the first time. "...Hello," she said softly.

"Ruby," Agate said. "Are you able to stand?" The Ruby pulled herself from the wall and stood up: she was not overcooked, she had just been emerged on her belly. "ID number?"

The Ruby, her gemstone in her left thigh, looked around in confusion. "My...huh?" she said, tilting her head to the side.

Red Lace looked down at her. "Your identification number? You know, your facet and cut?"

Leggy stared blankly in silence.

The Agate sighed. "That set of numbers and letters that magically appeared in your head when you were born?"

"Oh, those!" said Leggy. "Facet 3A, Cut 7QT," she said with a salute.

"Right, then," Agate said. "You ready to go on your first mission?"

"Um...not really…" the Ruby said.

* * *

_Homeworld._

"All five or you listen up!" Red Lace Agate said. "This isn't just some routine recon mission I'm sending you on, this is the real deal! This one comes to us straight from Yellow Diamond herself, so I need your full attention."

The rambunctious Rubies stopped talking amongst themselves and gave the Agate their undivided attention.

"That's more like it," she said. "Now, how many of you lot know about the Earth?" A diagram of the planet appeared on a screen behind her.

"You mean where the Great Gem War was fought?" asked Doc. "I thought that planet was destroyed." Eyeball scoffed.

"Not quite yet," the Agate explained. "The official story says that the Diamonds destroyed Earth, the truth is the Earth is currently the host for a geo-weapon of unprecedented proportions. I'm not at liberty to give you any information even if I had any, but that's not what your mission is about." The diagram behind her changed to one of the three Gems who returned to Earth. "Several months ago, Jasper left on a mission to Earth to check on the status of the geo-weapon, accompanied by a Peridot and a Lapis Lazuli. They were gone far longer than expected, when not one week ago, we received a transmission from the Peridot. She not only reported the ship having crashed and the group having been separated. While this alone would not be a big problem, she then proceeded to refuse to go forward with the Cluster project, denounce Homeworld and our goals, and insult Yellow Diamond to her face."

This got the Rubies riled up. "Alright, enough, quiet down!" Red Lace said. "Now, your assignment is very simple: retrieve Jasper at all costs. Yellow Diamond has reassured me that the Lapis Lazuli is a non-issue, and despite her betrayal, the Peridot will be destroyed along with the rest of the planet soon enough. Get Jasper back, don't bother with anything or anyone else. Understood?" The Rubies answered in the affirmative. "Good. Now, let's get moving. You're due to leave in exactly…" Red Lace Agate looked at a nearby time-keeping device. "...yesterday."

Before long, the Rubies were prepared to embark on their quest. They had been assigned a Roaming Eye for the journey: it was a sturdy ship, but it didn't have any weapons. "You bring that thing back in one piece, you hear?" said the Agate.

"And how are we supposed to get back if the ship is in more than one piece?" Navy asked.

"Just get moving, we're already behind schedule," Red Lace grumbled. "And take care of the new recruit! Don't let me hear stories about you pushing her around!"

"You've got nothing to worry about, My Agate!" said Doc. "Come on, newbie, let me show you the ropes."

"Agate?" She turned around, seeing Eyeball staring up at her.

"What is it, Ruby?"

"My Agate, I wanted to ask why we specifically were chosen for this mission."

Red Lace Agate grinned slightly. "In spite of yourself, the five of you were the only chosen because all my other Rubies were on missions. Still, I have confidence in you to do this."

"That's not what I was asking," said Eyeball. "Out of all five of us, I'm the only one who has experience with the Earth."

"And you want to know why you aren't leading this mission, am I right?" said Red Lace. Eyeball nodded. "Your experience with Earth is exactly why you aren't in charge. You're still a fine Ruby, Ruby, but you're a bit...how can I put this...emotional. Too emotional, I worry, to lead this mission. Understood?"

Eyeball saluted. "Yes, My Agate." She didn't display any outward signs of distress, but Red Lace could tell she was upset.

"Good. Now, get going." Eyeball headed off for the ship. "And, Ruby!" Agate called. Eyeball turned back. "Take care of the newbie."

The Roaming Eye levitated off of the ground. As the warp drive activated, a tiny black hole appeared just beside it. The ship was spaghettified as it took off into the darkness at faster than the speed of light. "Diamondspeed, Rubies," said Agate.

* * *

"Former Science Minister Heliodor speaking. Project: Birthstone log entry six. After much consideration and experimentation, I believe I've found another use for geo-transference! Up until now, I've only connected the physical gemstones together, or to organic hosts, but its true capabilities are so much greater! You see, geo-transference isn't just about connecting gems to other things, but about harnessing and diverting the very energy within them. I've placed Cinnabar in charge of Project: Birthstone for the time being, so that I may further study this phenomenon. If I can find a way to harness the energy of enough Gems...well, only time will tell! Subjects September is complete, now moving on to November and January. End log."


	12. July

Chapter 12: July

* * *

_Rulax-14._

"Okay, there it is!" whispered Doc. "Try not to make any loud noises."

"I know not to make any loud noises!" said Army in a harsh whisper. "This isn't my first time sneaking up on a giant monster, you know!"

While it wasn't Army's first time sneaking up on a giant monster, it was for the other Rubies. This particular monster was fast asleep, half of it concealed within a cave. It had bright red scales, a draconic head, and short, stubby arms. Visible on its forehead was a Ruby gemstone.

"You two are making loud noises right now!" said Eyeball. "Look at the size of that thing! Do you really want it to wake up?" The creature was indeed sizeable, its jaws easily large enough to swallow a Ruby whole.

"Can we focus on how we're going to kill it?" asked Navy. "I doubt the 'just whack it a few times 'til it dies' approach is going to work this time…"

"Good idea," Doc said. "So, anyone have any ideas?"

"Why don't you just run it through with your sword?" Eyeball suggested. "Quick and clean. It'll be over before it's any the wiser."

"Well, I suppose it's worth a shot," said Doc. "You four stay here, and come help me if it wakes up." With that, she climbed over the boulder the Rubies were hiding behind, and slowly made her way over to the beast.

"This is the biggest monster I've ever seen!" Leggy, who was clinging to Navy, whispered. "It's gotta be bigger than a Topaz!"

"Meh," grunted Army, "it's not _that_ big. I once snuck up on a monster at least three times bigger than that!"

"Really? Three times?" said Eyeball suspiciously. "If that was the case, how are you still here now?"

"'Cause I'm a stealth master!" Army gloated. "I nailed it before it even knew I was there!"

"Please. You couldn't stealth your way out of an empty room," Eyeball said. "There's no way you slayed a monster a _third_ of that thing's size, let alone three times."

"Okay, you two, how about we agree to disagree?" said Navy, attempting to defuse the situation. While she was normally all in favor of drama, it wasn't worth waking a sleeping monster over.

"Oh, you better believe I did!" said Army. "There I was, on Alcrius Minor: Colonization had begun recently, and-"

"Can we at least get the abridged version of your little fable?" growled Eyeball.

"Sure you can," Army said angrily. "I snuck up on a giant monster, and killed it. None of its sentries spotted me, and it didn't even wake up!"

"Sentries? Were they little flying, crawling black things?" asked Eyeball.

"Sure were," Army said. "And not a single one of them spotted me. Like I said, it didn't even wake u-"

"It was already dead, you moron!" yelled Eyeball. Her voice echoed across the caverns, all the Rubies standing still in stunned silence. The monster stirred, sniffing the air, but it did not wake. Doc turned around, staring daggers at Eyeball, before resuming her sneaking.

"Okay you two, that's enough!" hissed Navy. "This is getting ridiculous! Not only are you going to get us shattered, but you're upsetting Ruby!" Leggy was still clinging nervously to her side.

Neither of the Rubies were listening. "And when did you become some sort of expert on organics?" asked Army of Eyeball.

"You can't even recognize when one is dead!" said Eyeball. "You've got no right to talk to _me_ like that! I fought in the Earth War!"

"Oh, the Earth War, what a hero!" said Army. "You mean the war that we _lost_?"

Sensing that she was getting nowhere with these two, Navy just groaned, sitting down dejectedly by the boulder.

"You weren't even there! How can you say that like you were!" said Eyeball. "All you did was kill a monster that was already dead, while I'm a hero to Gemkind!"

"Yeah, nice job protecting Pink Diamond, hero!" said Army. Judging by the expressions on Eyeball's, Leggy's, and Navy's faces, especially Eyeball's, this had been a bad move.

Having reached her limit, Eyeball tackled Army, the two cursing each other out as they grappled on the floor. Rolling around in an angry red ball of fury, the two were blissfully unaware that the sounds of their duel had reached the ears of the slumbering beast. Well, maybe not blissfully, but they still didn't notice. Doc, however, did.

It's green eyes shot open, and the monster's head rose up on snakelike coils. The first thing it saw was Doc, barely a meter away from it. It's programing kicked in, recognizing anything that moved aside from itself as a threat. Before the Ruby had time to react, a billowing column of fire shot forth from the beast's maw, enveloping her. While she was fireproof, she was blown back slightly by the flames. She saw this as good a moment as any to run back to safety.

"Run run run RUN RUN!" Doc yelled, the other Rubies obliging. Eyeball and Army picked themselves up off the ground, splitting off from their hate-embrace. The monster emitted a shrieking bellow before slithering out of its tunnel after them.

"Just for the record, this is all your fault!" Navy said to Eyeball as they ran.

"What!? _My _fault!? This idiot here is just as guilty as I am, if not more so!" said Eyeball. Army grimaced at her.

"What's the new plan, captain?" asked Leggy.

"Head to those stalagmites!" said Doc. "We can't fight it out in the open, so we'll lead it over there!"

The Rubies ran into the field of stalagmites with the monster hot on their tails. Their next move was to split up, although Army and Eyeball's feud seemed to still be standing.

"Apologize to Pink Diamond right now, or I'll throw you into that thing's mouth!" yelled Eyeball.

"Why don't you come over here and make me?" Army shouted back.

The beast crawled in amongst the spires, and the Rubies now saw an alarming detail of its anatomy: rather than having a tail, it had a second head and pair of arms, identical to the other aside from the lack of a gemstone. Both heads now searched for Rubies.

"You idiots! We have more important things to deal with right now!" growled Doc. But neither of the Rubies was listening.

Eyeball had now walked closer to Army. "I won't just stand by and let you profane the good name of Pink Diamond!" she snarled, drawing her knife.

"I didn't profane nobody's name!" Army countered. "All I said was that you didn't save her!"

Eyeball grabbed Army by the front of her shirt, holding her knife behind her. "How dare you! I was Pink Diamond's most loyal follower! I would have stopped that Rose Quartz if I could have!"

"Then why didn't you?"

The monster was now growing impatient. It thrashed its heads around, breaking many of the stalagmites apart. Doc was caught by one of its strikes, but rather than be sent flying, she managed to cling onto the side of its head. It breathed its fire into the air and tried to shake her off, but she held strong.

"What did you say?" Eyeball said quietly.

"I said, why didn't you?" Army responded. "You were there. You said so yourself. So why didn't you help her when you had the chance?"

"I-I…" Eyeball was stunned. Army was right; why _hadn't _she? She didn't know herself. She was right there, so why didn't she run out to help? "I'm not sure…"

Thrashing about, the monster continued to destroy more and more of the stalactites. Doc tried to draw her sword without losing her grip, and Leggy was attempting to hit the thing with her shovel without getting too close. Navy was throwing fans at the stalactites above, hoping to knock one loose and have it fall on the beast. So far, none of their plans were working.

"How are you not sure?" Army asked in disbelief. "You were _there_!"

"I know I was there!" said Eyeball. "I saw Rose Quartz sneak up behind her, and I just…"

Much of Army's anger had dissipated, now replaced with genuine curiosity. "You just what?"

Eyeball wasn't sure what she 'just' did. She didn't have the time to think of it, either, as the serpentine monstrosity crashed directly into the pair of them. Army was tossed several feet away, but Eyeball ended up underneath its coils. Fortunately for her, it rolled off of her rather quickly. _Un_fortunately for her, it had shaken Doc off, and was staring directly at its next target.

The monster lunged. Eyeball was able to catch it by its teeth before it could bite her. It lifted its head into the air, and all the other Rubies saw that Eyeball was holding its jaws open. But just barely, as it clearly took a lot of effort. The monster breathed a stream of flame, but the Ruby continued to hold strong.

"Hang on, Ruby!" shouted Doc. "We're comin'!"

But it seemed they were too late. Her strength was giving out, and rather than be crushed by its teeth, she chose to fling herself down its gullet, disappearing just as its jaws snapped violently shut. Both of the monster's heads turned towards the other Rubies.

"Well, it was a good life while it lasted," said Leggy.

But rather than strike, the monster stopped moving. Something else had caught its attention, like a bad case of indigestion. The Rubies were confused as to what had happened, but it all became relatively clear when the creature burst into flames. It's burning body fell to the ground with a mighty thud, shaking the ground. From out of the blaze walked Eyeball, knife in hand.

The Rubies crowded around her, glad both that she was alive and that she had killed the monster. Eyeball seemed nonplussed as she turned to Army. "I was scared."

"Huh?" asked Army.

"I was scared. That's why I didn't run over to fight Rose Quartz. I've taken on enemies more than three times my size before and since, but Rose Quartz...I just didn't think I was tough enough to beat her." Eyeball sat on the ground. "The one time in my whole life I couldn't be brave…"

Army's expression turned from confusion to remorse. She walked over, patting Eyeball on the back. "Are you kidding? You're like the greatest Ruby I know! So what if you couldn't be brave once! It really says a lot that there's only _one_ time you can think of where you messed up!"

Eyeball stood up, smiling slightly. "Yeah, I guess you got a point. I really should stop beating myself up over that. I probably couldn't have done much anyway."

"More than I could have," said Army with a laugh. "I could only slay a monster that was already dead!"

"Good to see you two getting along again!" said Navy.

"Yeah, good." said Doc. "Now, I should be angry at you two for screwing up our mission. And I am. But you did complete the mission anyway, so we'll call it neutral. Come on, let's get back topside."

And so, the Rubies began the journey back to the surface, Army and Eyeball each having a little bit more insight into each other's lives. As they trekked, they were unaware of the winged beast watching them from behind, silent as an owl, and wicked as a vulture. With its piercing red eyes, it simply watched, waiting until the time was right to strike.


	13. To Neptune

Chapter 13: To Neptune

* * *

_Earth's Solar System, en route to Neptune. Era 2 Year 5,743._

"So, you think that Jasper's really on Neptune?" asked Navy. Their Roaming Eye flew through hyperspace, but it would take a while before it arrived.

"Where else would she be?" responded Eyeball. "There's no way those Crystal Gems could have defeated Jasper. Unless you have any better idea of where she is?"

Navy wanted to say that she did, but she didn't, because she had no such idea. Instead, Leggy asked a question.

"Ruby...what was Jasper like?"

Eyeball smiled in reminiscence. She turned around in her chair. "Jasper was the greatest warrior Homeworld has ever seen. If you ask me, it's probably going to stay that way." She looked up, and saw that Army had looked over as well. "Hey Ruby," she asked, "do we have time for storytime?"

Doc was currently overseeing the ship's flight path. "I don't see why not," she said. "We probably won't reach Neptune for another ten minutes."

"Alright then," Army said. "So, tell us what makes Jasper so great?"

"I should think most of you should already know by now," Eyeball said. "It's the newbie that needs this the most." She turned towards Leggy. "So, you know who Jasper is?"

"Well, she's why we came here," the tiny Ruby said. "And you said she was Homeworld's greatest warrior just now."

"Exactly," Eyeball said. "But there's so much more to it than that."

"Didn't you tell me you barely knew her?" Doc said from the front of the ship.

Eyeball shot her a glare. "Not personally, but that doesn't mean she wasn't my Idol! Ever since she saved my life back during the Earth War, I've strived to be like Jasper in every way! She's strong, and she doesn't let anything keep her down! They say that Jasper is the ultimate Quartz. One time, I heard she took on a Topaz all on her own, and won!"

"But, why was she fighting the Topaz?" Navy asked.

"She was a Crystal Gem, obviously!" said Eyeball. "Try to keep up. Anyways, if Jasper was the ultimate Quartz, then I would be the ultimate Ruby!"

"And how is that working out?" asked Doc. It was a legitimate question, though Eyeball took it as a dig at her.

"Better than you would expect!" the Ruby said, shooting another glare in her captain's direction. "I think it's pretty obvious that I'm Red Lace Agate's favorite. Otherwise she wouldn't have promoted me to captain."

Doc turned and walked over to her. "I'm a captain too, you know. If Red Lace likes you so much, why aren't _you_ the one in charge?"

Eyeball stood up. "You know, that's a very good question. Why don't you ask her yourself? You could even put in a good word for me. After all, I'd be happy to take this burden off your shoulders."

"Um, weren't we just talking about Jasper?" asked Leggy. But the feuding pair weren't listening.

"Are you saying that I'm not cut out to be a captain?" asked Doc.

"No, I'm not saying that at all," Eyeball countered. "But I'm not _not_ saying that either."

"What? What does that even _mean_?"

"It means I know the Earth," said Eyeball. "I should be the one leading this expedition. I have more experience than all of you put together."

"Well, you're not in charge. I am. I know you've been on Earth before, but Our Agate made me the captain for a reason." With that, Doc returned to her seat, leaving Eyeball glaring at her.

"So, is that the end of the story, or what?" said Army.

"Yeah, Ruby, tell us more about Jasper!" said Navy.

Eyeball groaned, but continued on anyway, wanting to take her mind off of her angst. "Okay. So just about everyone knows about how Jasper was the Crystal Gems' collective worst nightmare. But what most Gems don't know is what she's been doing since then."

"Is it fighting Interlopers?" Navy asked.

"Okay, maybe it is kind of obvious," Eyeball admitted. "Still, you should have seen her! This one time, She took down a Carnivore without anyone to back her up!"

"So, was it a Topaz or a Carnivore?" asked Leggy.

Eyeball placed her palm over her forehead. "It was both! Those were two separate occasions! Look, the point I'm trying to make is, the sooner we get Jasper back, the closer this war is to being won."

"We're here," came the voice of Doc. The Roaming Eye had arrived at its destination sooner than expected.

"So, this is Neptune," mused Navy. "It's a lot bluer than I was expecting."

"Are we going to have to go down there to look?" asked Army. "I don't exactly trust blue things...except for Blue Diamond, of course.

"Well, Jasper won't find herself," Doc said. She took the roaming eye down into the gas giant's atmosphere, all the way to its solid core. If Jasper was on Neptune, that was the only place she could be.

Through storms and darkness, the tiny ship combed across the planet, looking for anything out of the ordinary. Any speck of orange against this sea of blue and black. But after days of skimming, they come up empty handed.

"Ruby, we've covered this whole planet at least three times now," said Navy. Army was facedown on the console, and Leggy had fallen asleep. "I don't think Jasper's here."

"Well, where else could she be?" said Eyeball. "We just have to look for a fourth time. There's gotta be an outpost out there that we missed."

"Ruby, there aren't any. The ship would have detected them if there were. She's just not here."

"Well, maybe she's hiding in a cave! Come on, we can't just leave her out there!"

"I agree with Ruby," said Doc. "If Jasper was on this planet, we'd have found her by now. We should try looking somewhere else."

Eyeball was reluctant to leave, but eventually complied. "Okay." Soon enough, the ship had flown up and out of the planet's atmosphere.

"Don't worry about it, we'll find her," Navy reassured her. "Maybe she's on a different planet?"

"I guess it can't hurt to look," Eyeball said. "What's the next planet in this solar system?"

"That depends," said Doc. "We could either head back to Uranus, or go further out to Pluto. I'm not sure if it's really a planet, or just a dwarf planet, though."

"Just like Rulax-14," Navy mused.

Eyeball jokingly shuddered. "I hope we never have to go _there_. Well, it can't hurt to check it out." So the Roaming Eye set a course to Pluto.

* * *

The log started the same as all the others, with a Gem sitting in front of a wall. This time, however, the Gem in question was not Heliodor. Instead, a dark orange Gem with brightly-colored hair sat in her place. This Gem was only slightly smaller than Heliodor, a thin oval gemstone sitting on her forehead. She wore a set of loose fitting amber-colored robes.

"Cinnabar Facet T7X Cut GF9 speaking. Project: Birthstone log entry seven. My Heliodor has temporarily placed me in charge of the project while she works on something of her own. She says she calls it...April. I don't know anything else about it, and even if I did, I wouldn't be at liberty to discuss it. Whatever it is, it must be pretty big. What we're doing here is highly illegal, and she still found the need to have it classified."

"Anyways, let's get down to business: the subject designated January has been completed. This only leaves March and May, and April of course." Cinnabar looked off-screen for a moment. "If I'm being honest, I'm a bit worried about My Heliodor. She's been out of sorts even since we started working on this project. Not that she was _in_ sorts before then, but she's gotten even worse since then. I'm worried that she's slowly losing her mind, but I don't know what to do about it." Her expression turned to one of concern. "Crack, she probably watches these things, doesn't she? Hold on…" Cinnabar reached out towards the camera, and the feed cut out. It was replaced with another video of her.

"Cinnabar Facet T7X Cut GF9 speaking. Project: Birthstone log entry seven. My Heliodor has temporarily placed me in charge while she works on a classified project. Subjects November and January have been completed, and we are now moving on to March and May. End log."


	14. May

Chapter 14: May

* * *

_Rulax-14._

Lately, the quakes had been getting worse. Since the Rubies had defeated the last monster, there had been at least three quakes that shook the small settlement aboard the planetoid. Moss Agate had asked the Peridots to scan for seismic anomalies, but none were detected, leaving the cause of the tremors a mystery. In the wake of the most recent one, some of the Gems were busy cleaning up the mess it made in the main archive.

"Stupid quakes," Army muttered, gathering up scattered holo-files. "Why do we always get stuck with the grunt work?"

"Last I checked, you lot _are_ grunts," a nearby Peridot said. She was welding a broken shelf back together.

Army dropped the files she was holding and walked over to the Peridot. "Why don't you say that to my face?"

"I assumed I just did," she said, disinterested.

"She's kind of right," said Leggy, who was picking up files as well. "We are grunts. And also she did say it to your face."

"Don't even start with me today, newbie," said Army, shooting the younger Ruby a look. "I'm not in the best of moods, and I don't want to take it out of you."

Leggy shrugged, and got back to her duties. She had gotten used to her fellow Ruby's gruffness, and knew her bite wasn't as bad as her bark.

"Hold on, did you two hear something?" the Peridot asked. Both Rubies listened: indeed, they could hear a quiet crackling noise that seemed to becoming from within the walls.

"Eugh. I hope it isn't another monster," said Leggy.

"With our luck, that's the only thing it could be," Army responded. She placed her ear against the wall, listening for the origin of the noises. "It sounds like it's coming from...down there." She pointed towards another section of the archives, which the three of them headed towards.

Nearby where the sound seemed to be coming from was the door to Heliodor's underground base. "How long exactly has there been a door here?" the Peridot asked.

"We found this the first day we got here," explained Leggy. "It's how we get down to where the monsters are."

A brief pause. "Why is it still open!?" the Peridot asked in disbelief. "How do you think the organics are getting to the surface in the first place!?"

"Hmm...more good points," said Leggy. "I'll have to ask the boss about sealing it up."

"The least we can do is block it off," said the Peridot. "Here, help me block it off for now." She grabbed a shelf with the intent of using it to block off the doorway, and motioned for the two Rubies to give her a hand.

"Good idea," Army said, peering into the caverns below. "It sounds like whatever's making the noises is getting closer."

"The noises are getting-what?" said the Peridot. Before they could move the shelf an inch, something long and dark flew out of the doorway and past the trio. The air crackled with static electricity as it passed. "Ack, not another one!" she shouted.

"Well, great!" complained Army. "Now we've got a monster _and_ cleanup duty! Come on, Ruby, let's get this over with…" She strolled in the general direction the monster had flown, Leggy following behind her. Left alone, the Peridot tried to move the shelf on her own, to little success.

Outside of the archives, Moss Agate and the other Rubies were staring upwards at the beast, which had flown to the roof. "So, what are we dealing with today, boss?" Leggy asked. It was a bit difficult to see the creature from this distance, but it appeared to move like an airborne serpent, jet-black in color.

"Not sure," Doc said. "It's kinda just...flying around up there. I don't even know what it wants."

"Nor should we care," said Moss Agate. "Just get up there and kill it before it divebombs anybody."

"You got it," said Navy. "Quick question, though: how do we get up there?"

"There's no doors to the roof, so you'll have to climb. Good luck." With that, Moss Agate returned to her quarters.

"What!? There's no way we can climb all the way up there by ourselves!" cried Leggy.

"Maybe you can't," came the voice of Eyeball. She was already partway up the side of the building, using two knives to create handholds in the wall.

"If she can do it, I can!" said Navy. Using the same method as Eyeball, she began to follow after her using her fans.

"Mm. I don't think we'll be able to do that with _our_ weapons, right, guys? Guys?"

But Leggy was left alone, as Doc and Army were climbing up the building the building the old-fashioned way, the former much more successfully. "Well, I suppose it's worth a try." Leggy attempted to pull herself up, using holes left by Eyeball's knives as handholds. It took a considerable amount of effort just for her to get a foot off the ground. She wouldn't have made it much farther than that, but her efforts were cut short when she was startled by the sound of a thunderbolt, sending her crashing to the ground.

"Ruby? Are you coming up here or what?" asked Army, a little ways ahead of her.

"I'm trying, but I can't get a good grip!" responded Leggy. "How do you do that?"

Rolling her eyes, Army climbed back down to her level. "Here. Get on my back, I'll carry you."

"Really? Thanks, I appreciate it!" said Leggy as she obliged.

Army was weighed down by Leggy as she climbed back up. "Don't expect this to be a regular thing," she groaned. More lightning strikes were heard up above them, as well as the crackling of electricity. Inside the archives, the power flickered for a moment.

Soon enough, the pair of Rubies rendezvoused with their fellows on an outcropping not far from the roof. Army was exhausted, but she did her best not to show it. "What'd we miss?" she asked.

"That thing's doing something weird with the electricity," Eyeball said. "It shot some of it at me, but it's also taking it from the building."

Sure enough, more power could be seen and heard discharging where the creature was. "Let's get a look at it," said Doc. "Ruby, you get up on my shoulders."

Relieved to be the load rather than the bearer this time around, Army obliged. With this boost, she was able to see the creature more clearly. Its black, eel-like body had three pairs of long fins down its length, and a spike in the place of a head. Using this spike, it was stabbing holes in the roof, draining the power from the building. Once it turned its back to Army, she was able to see a dark green gemstone on its back.

This revelation caused her to tumble backwards. "Holy crack, it's an Emerald!" she said. "How did Heliodor manage to kidnap an Emerald with nobody noticing?"

"Wait, I think I remember that!" said Eyeball. "Back some time after the war, this one Emerald went missing, and nobody could figure where she went."

"You mean the Supreme Admiral?" asked Navy.

"Nah, everybody knew where _she_ ended up. It was a different Emerald. Still, this proves that Heliodor was willing to risk treason for Project: Birthstone. Kidnapping a Ruby or a Zircon is one thing, but an Emerald...yeesh."

"Then the least we can do is put her to rest," said Doc. "Besides, we should stop that thing before it eats all of our electricity. Ruby, give us a boost. Ruby, you stay here."

Annoyed at being the bearer once again, Army nevertheless obliged. Doc, Eyeball, and Navy ascended over the top to do battle with the electrivorous beast, leaving her down with Leggy. Army sat leaning against the wall, sulking.

"Um, I could try giving you a boost if you want to help too," Leggy said. Army declined, partly due to knowing she would never be able to lift her. The sounds of Rubies shouting and lightning strikes emanated from above.

"Ruby...am I just some grunt?" Army asked. "I can't explain it, but I feel like I don't have any of the things that the rest of you have."

"Well, Rubies are supposed to be grunts," said Leggy. "It's not glamorous, but it's like Red Lace Agate says: all Gems have a role to play in our empire, and they're not equally glamorous, but equally important."

"You see? That's what I mean," said Army. "Ruby's a great strategist, Ruby's got loads of experience, Ruby's smarter than just about any other Ruby I know, and you've got that whole insight thing going on! But I'm just...a regular Ruby."

"Better than being a bad Ruby," said Leggy.

"Yeah, I guess," replied Army. "Still…"

Suddenly, the beast flew overhead, catching the both of them off-guard. It flew several yards into the distance before doubling back, driving its spike into the wall where Army sat. She only just managed to roll out of the way in time.

Seeing her chance, Army summoned her mace to put the creature down. Before she even had a chance to ready a strike, Leggy swung downwards with her shovel. "Nyeh!" she cried, the shovel severing the creature in two. Bolts of electricity shot out from where it was halved, before it finally stopped moving.

"That's one way to get the job done!" said Doc, hopping down to them. Eyeball and Navy jumped down as well. "Good work once again, Rubies!"

As everyone celebrated and passed around praises, Army was silent. She stayed back as the group cheered for their accomplishments.

"Quick question, though:" said Navy. "How do we get back down?"


	15. Heading Home

Chapter 15: Heading Home

* * *

_Unknown regions. Era 2 Year 5,744._

Space. Endlessly vast, filled to the brim with stars and planets and other cosmic phenomena to make the mind boggle. But despite being stuck drifting through its wide open expanses, one Ruby's mind was doing anything but boggling. In fact, rather than pondering the universe around her, Eyeball's mind was stuck on a different universe entirely. _Steven_ Universe, who had doomed her to die alone in the coldness of the void, all for having the audacity to try to kill him!

In all seriousness, he had just revealed himself as Rose Quartz, traitor to Homeworld, murderer of Pink Diamond. She had been alive on Earth this whole time, right under the Diamonds' noses. She was the reason Jasper had gone missing, likely the reason the Cluster had not yet emerged, _and_ the reason Eyeball was now floating through space. Was it any wonder she had been mad?

Most people, even Gems, would be terribly frightened by the idea of drifting helplessly through space, no matter how pretty it was. Not Eyeball. The only thing she could think about was revenge. Throughout her whole life, her inner rage was the only thing that kept her going. That, and her admiration for Jasper. While the hate stayed, its target often changed. First it was the Crystal Gems as a whole, then it was Rose Quartz in particular, and it had been the Interlopers for the last several thousand years. Many times, it had even been herself. Now, it had looped back around to Rose Quartz, or rather, the small human she was pretending to be.

So she sat, fuming, for the good part of several weeks, perhaps even months. It all seemed a blur to her, anyways. When rage consumes your very essence, there isn't much room for other emotions, let alone time management skills.

One day, however, when she was replaying her skirmish with Rose Quartz in her head for the umpteenth time, imagining what she should have done differently, she saw an object approaching in the distance. Small at first, it soon grew larger, as objects that come closer are known to do. Whatever it was, all she could tell was that it was red.

_Great, another asteroid_, she thought. But the thing did something that space rocks don't normally do, which is to say it slowed down once it reached her. Looking at it, Eyeball saw that it was no asteroid, but a Roaming Eye. Given how vast space is, she first assumed it was a different ship of the same model as her own, given how far she had drifted from Earth at this point. But upon being brought aboard, she saw that it was in fact the same vessel.

"Ruby!" cried Leggy. The young Gem immediately ran over to Eyeball to embrace her. "We finally found you! We've been looking for hours!"

"You guys...you're all here…" Eyeball said in disbelief. Indeed, all five Rubies were now reunited aboard the same ship. The last she had seen them, they had all been flung out the airlock and were drifting away from Earth's moon.

"Good to have you back, soldier!" said Doc. Despite their feud earlier, Eyeball could tell she really meant it.

"It's good to _be_ back," she said. "So...would anyone care to fill me in on what exactly happened?"

Army guffawed. "Well, that's quite a story! How's about this one tell you?" She gestured to Navy, who was smiling bashfully.

"Aw, I already told the story four times!" she said. "Why doesn't one of you tell it to her?"

"No need to be modest, Ruby!" said Doc. "This is your accomplishment, and it's your right to be proud!"

"What? Me? Proud?" said Navy. "I haven't the slightest idea what you mean!" she said in an over-exaggerated tone. "Besides, it was no big deal..._but if you insist, I'll tell it again!_" Her demeanor had completely changed from humble to excited in less than a second. "I tricked Rose Quartz and got our ship back!"

"Wait," Eyeball said, "you did what?"

"I know!" said Navy. "I can't believe it worked either! I thought they were going to put me in a bubble the minute I landed, but they didn't they actually thought I wanted to become a Crystal Gem!" Navy laughed.

"Tell her what happened next!" said Leggy.

"Okay, so it went a little something like this: I got pulled in by Earth's gravity, and wouldn't you know it, I landed right in front of Rose Quartz! I made up some sob story about how miserable I was on Homeword, and how mean all the other Rubies are to me, and the next thing I know, she invited me to stay with them!"

Eyeball was impressed. "I guess Red Lace Agate wasn't kidding when she said you were smarter than normal."

"Just wait, it gets better!" said Navy. "So, I put up this lovey-dovey mushy act for them, and they totally bought it! There was a Lapis Lazuli there who was suspicious of me, but none of them believed her."

"I said this before, but that's probably the Lapis that accompanied Peridot and Jasper," Doc added. "She must have gone rogue as well."

"But what about Jasper?" said Eyeball. "Did you ask about her?"

Navy shook her head. "Wherever she is, it seems like the Crystal Gems already got her." Eyeball seemed upset, so Navy continued her story. "But just wait 'til you hear how it ends! So, I tell them how much I love this ship, and get this: they actually let me fly it! All I have to do then is open the door, and I'm off to look for the rest of you!"

"You are a devious little Gem!" said Eyeball. Navy smiled. "But, how did you find me? Everyone else was so close to Earth, but I must have drifted into another galaxy by now!"

"Actually…" said Leggy, pointing out the window. Eyeball turned to see a rust-colored planet in the distance, the one closest to Earth.

"Oh," she said. "You know, maybe space is a bit bigger than I thought…"

"Speaking of space, we should probably get going," said Navy. "Red Lace is probably wondering where we are by now."

"But, won't she be mad that we didn't find Jasper?" asked Leggy.

"Maybe, but we aren't qualified to take on the Crystal Gems ourselves. Besides, we got the next best thing: information!"

* * *

_Homeworld._

"Look, how am I supposed to know where they are?" said Red Lace Agate into a small communicator. The voice on the other end chirped out a response. "You're the space expert here, if anyone knows what's taking them so long, it'd be you! ...Solar wind!? Do I look like the kind of Gem who knows anything about solar wind!?"

Red shifted her seat to look out the window. "Yes, I'm well aware that there are still active Crystal Gems! ...Lady, that beam was supposed to wipe all of them out, you're asking the wrong Agate how they survived. ...She's an Era 2 Peridot without limb enhancers! What's she gonna do, build a death ray out of wood and rocks, or whatever they use on Earth!?"

In the middle of her conversation, the Agate noticed a shooting star streaking through Homeworld's sky. "If Yellow Diamond thought the Lapis would be dangerous, she would have-the _void_ is that thing? No, not _you_, there's something making reentry above Gemini Sector. It looks like…"

The Roaming Eye slowed down just in time to avoid hitting a building, before redirecting itself over to Red Lace's office.

"Um, listen, B, I'll call you back, the Rubies just showed up."

Not long after, the five Rubies were lined up in a row, being accosted by Red Lace Agate.

"Do you have any idea how long I've been covering for you!?" she shouted. "Everyone else thought you were dead, and I was ready to think so too, but if _you_ had died, nobody would have brought back Jasper, and nobody wanted _that_, so it was a whole thing! And now here you are, not dead, and with no Jasper! There had better be a good explanation for all of this!"

"I'm sorry we're late, My Agate," said Leggy, "but we were tricked by the Crystal Gems."

"I figured, and I'm very glad you're okay," said Red. "But how exactly am I supposed to explain to Yellow Diamond that you failed your mission to bring back Homeworld's best hope against the Interlopers!?"

"Well…" said Navy. "...Rose Quartz is alive."

The Agate paused mid-stride, turning towards the Ruby. "Wha?"

"There was this kid called Steven, and he told us we could look for Peridot in his barn if we played baseball, which is a human ritual, and there was another Ruby who wanted to join our team, and we played with the other humans, and they won, but they weren't humans, they were Crystal Gems! And the other Ruby was a fusion! So they sent us to Neptune, but Jasper wasn't there, so we looked on the other planets, but she wasn't there either, so we went back to Earth, and one of them pretended to be Jasper, so we took her to the moon, but then they threw us out the airlock! Ruby fought with Rose Quartz, who was really Steven, and got stuck in space too, and then I fell to Earth and stole back the ship and rescued everyone and now we're back here."

This time, it was Red Lace Agate's turn to stare blankly in silence.

* * *

"Cinnabar speaking. Project: Birthstone log entry eight. March and May have been completed. This only leaves April. Apparently, the test subject has arrived. My Heliodor wouldn't let me see it, but whatever it is, it's massive!"

Cinnabar shuffled nervously in her seat. "Attempts to control the test subjects have proven...problematic. I don't know much about geo-transference, but whatever My Heliodor did made them incredibly aggressive. They'll attack anything that moves, no matter what we try to do to calm them down or pacify them. I've had all eleven subjects placed in cryo-chambers until further notice, but I don't think we have one big enough to contain April, whatever it is…" Cinnabar stared off into space for a few seconds. "Oh, right! End log."


	16. March

Chapter 16: March

* * *

_Rulax-14._

While Rulax-14 was severely lacking in just about everything, Navy did have to admit, at least it had a halfway-decent sunrise. Despite the fact that the sun was so far away, so it almost looked like just another star, the way the light shone off the endless desert beyond the small settlement was nothing short of adequate.

_When you're out here in the middle of nowhere, I guess anything even remotely stimulating will do_, Navy thought. _Still, it is kinda relaxing out here today._ Navy lied down and let the sun's rays wash over her. _Maybe there won't be any monster attacks, and I can just stay here all day._

Just then, she heard a shout off in the distance. The sound quickly grew louder as its source grew closer, with Leggy flying over her head, and coming to rest several meters away.

_Or, maybe that's enough happiness for today_, she thought, getting to her feet in a huff. "What's going on over there?" she asked Leggy.

"Blue monster," Leggy answered, picking herself up. "Threw me over here. Don't know where it came from."

Navy groaned, summoning a fan. "Alright then, let's get this over with. You coming, or what?"

"I'll meet you over there," said Leggy. Navy ran over towards where the commotion was coming from. There seemed to be some sort of ruckus going on in the main archive building.

Once she arrived, she saw Moss Agate cowering just outside of the building. "What's the situation, Moss Agate?" she asked.

"What do you _think_ is the situation?" asked Moss Agate, somewhat annoyed. Another horrible organic is causing havoc! Get in there and put a stop to it!"

"Right away!" said Navy, entering the building. "No need to be so huffy," she added under her breath. Once inside the archives, it was apparent that 'havoc' was the correct word. Holo-screens were strewn everywhere, as well as the shelves they were stored on. The sounds of Rubies shouting could be heard in the other room, as well as an unidentified chittering noise Navy assumed was the creature. She went in, brandishing her weapon.

As soon as she walked through the doorway, Doc was suddenly slammed into the wall right next to her. She stood up, groaning. "Glad you could join us, Ruby," she said.

"I'm not one to miss out on the action, captain!" said Navy. "Now, what are we up against this time?"

"That," Doc said simply. She gestured towards a small creature, which was flitting between shelves, aided by a pair of chitinous wings, as the other two Rubies chased after it. It was indeed blue, a small insectoid creature about the size of an Aquamarine. Fittingly, that was the gemstone on the creature's forehead.

"That's what's been giving you all so much trouble?" Navy said with a grin. "It's just a little bug!"

The 'little bug,' having apparently grown tired of being chased, fired a blue beam of light from its mouth. The beam made contact with a shelf, which was enveloped in a blue glow. The bug effortlessly lifted the shelf into the air with its beam, throwing it at Doc and Army, who were barely able to avoid it. The shelf crashed into another one, sending holo-screens careening everywhere.

"Aw, come on, I just picked those up!" shouted Army. "Hey, cap, this thing's toying with us now!"

"Just focus on avoiding its tractor beams," Doc said. "Ruby's right, are we gonna let a little bug get the better of us?"

Eyeball was about to answer, until she was grabbed by said tractor beam, and flung into another shelf. This particular shelf happened to be the one that Army and Leggy had used to block off the entrance to the underground caverns. With the shelf having been smashed, the creature saw an opening, literally. It leapt towards Eyeball, hopping over her and into the darkness below.

"Great, now we have to go after it! This day just gets better and better!" said Army.

Huffing and puffing, Leggy ran in the door. "What'd I miss?" she said, out of breath. The other Rubies looked at one another.

Eventually, the five of them had entered the caves once more to chase after their foe.

"I still don't know how it got up here," said Army. "We blocked off the entrance, and we'd have known if that thing moved the shelf."

"Well, Rulax-14's a big planet," said Navy. "I mean, not big as far as planets go, but big enough where there should be more entrances to the caves."

"If there are, I haven't seen 'em," said Eyeball.

The Rubies tried to find any sort of clues to where the bug had gone, but they found nothing. It left no footprints, nothing was moved out of the way, and it didn't leave any trails behind.

"This is hopeless," Leggy said. "Maybe we should just leave, and wait for it to come back up top."

"I don't want to take that risk," said Doc. "We know it's down here, so we should take it out while we have the chance."

"I dunno, I kind of agree with the newbie," Army said. "Why hunt it down when we can wait for it to come to us?"

"Nonsense," Doc said, "we'll find it eventually. Now stay alert, because it be anywh-"

The Ruby was cut off as another quake shook the caverns. "Not again!" said Navy, falling on her bottom. The Rubies braced themselves until the quake ended some thirty seconds or so later. Some debris had fallen from the ceiling, but nothing large enough to injure the Rubies.

"Those things are starting to get on my nerves," said Army, picking herself up off the ground.

"I hear you there," said Eyeball, who was dusting Leggy off. "Maybe these quakes are making holes in the ground, or something, and that's how it got up there."

"Sounds reasonable," said Leggy. "What do you think, Ruby?"

Navy was looking into the distance. "Do any of you see that?" she asked.

"See what?" asked Doc. "I don't see anything but a bunch of rocks."

"There's something in the rocks," Navy said, hopping over some debris. She had noticed something blue sitting amongst a pile of stones, and thought it had something to do with the creature that they were pursuing.

Once she got closer, she saw what it was. Moving some of the rocks out of the way, Navy held up a severed leg that once belonged to the creature.

"Is that...it's leg?" Asked Leggy, slightly perturbed.

"Looks like it," Army responded. "Hey, if the quake killed it, that's good enough for me." She turned to leave, but Doc stopped her.

"Hold on a minute," said Doc. "Is the rest of it there?" Navy moved the rest of the stones out of the way, but no trace of the creature could be found. "We've got to find it," Doc said. "It could still be alive."

Army groaned as the Rubies continued their search. Fortunately for her, and everyone else, their search did not last long. They had only been walking for a minute when Navy spotted a sliver of the beast's exoskeleton lying on the ground. Then another, and another, until it lead them to the monster itself. The insect was lying in the center of a circular room, apparently dead.

"Yikes," Doc said. "I think someone else got to it before we could." It was a grisly scene, to be sure. The creature had been torn apart by some unknown assailant.

"What could have done this?" asked Leggy. "It wasn't the quake, was it?"

"Doubt it," Eyeball said. She walked closer to the creature, leaning in to investigate. "It kinda looks like...tooth marks. I'm no organic expert, but I think another organic did this."

"There are a lot of those down here," Navy said. "Heliodor's logs mentioned eleven of them, maybe more."

Doc walked over to the creature, and nudged it with her foot to make sure it was dead. "Well, I guess that's that. Come on, team, let's get back up to-"

Once again Doc was cut off, this time by another monster swooping down from above, shrieking up a storm. Doc tried to wave it away, stepping backwards.

"Hold on, boss, I'll get it!" said Army. She summoned her mace, built up a good momentum, and hurled it in the beast's general direction. Her projectile missed its target by a hair's breadth, instead colliding with Doc's forehead. The resulting 'Conk!' would have been comical were it not for the circumstances.

"Great shot, Ruby," Doc said from the floor, "that was one in a million."

"Uh...sorry, boss," Army replied. Soon she was beset by this new assaulter. She could barely hear herself think with the racket it was making. She swing another mace towards it, aiming for its red eyes.

"Hyah!" yelled Leggy, swinging at and missing the creature with her shovel. The monster flew upwards, circling the team like an angry vulture. It decided to go after Leggy next, swooping down towards the hapless Ruby.

Leggy dropped her shovel to the ground and held up her hands in defence. As the beast streaked towards its target, its path towards Leggy was blocked by Navy. Summoning her fan, Navy used the creature's own momentum against it. She sliced a line directly through it, causing it to fall to the ground, coming to rest just before running into Leggy.

Doc stood up, massaging her head. "Way to...do whatever you just did, Ruby. Sorry if I wasn't paying attention, I have a splitting headache. I wonder why?" she said, glaring at Army, who averted her gaze.

Leggy opened her eyes. "Is it over? Did you get it?" She looked at the creature in front of her and nearly hit the ceiling. She opted to hide behind Eyeball instead.

Navy examined the beast she had just slain. It was serpentine in shape, with brown skin and no limbs aside from two large, leathery wings. It was as long as a Pearl was tall, and had an armored black crest on its head. Furthermore, a small pool of black liquid had now formed a puddle around it.

"So, what's this one?" Army asked. "Another one of Heliodor's pets?"

"I don't think so," said Navy. "Usually they have a gemstone somewhere, and I don't see one. Also, none of the creatures we killed before had any blood."

"So this one's different somehow," said Doc. "I never thought we'd have to deal with a mystery like this one on Rulax-14, of all places." While she talked, Army had begun to sneak back topside. "Wh-Hey! No you don't, you still have to answer for almost taking my head off!" Doc gave chase, prompting Eyeball and Leggy to follow. Navy laughed to herself, before running after them to see where this would go.

Meanwhile, unknown to the Rubies, the quakes had indeed created an entrance to the caves. Almost one mile away from the outpost, a small sinkhole was forming. Tiny chips of rock fell below as the hole grew ever-so-slightly larger. But what would come out of this hole, only time would tell.


	17. Red and Moss

Chapter 17: Red and Moss

* * *

_Homeworld, Pisces Sector, Combat District. Era 2, Year 12._

From within a meeting hall, the voices of nearly a dozen Rubies could be heard even from the outside. Their commander, a Red Lace Agate, attempted to control them. "Ruby, get down from there, you're going to hurt yourself! Ruby, Ruby, get back here, stay with the group! Ruby! What did I tell you about picking on Ruby!?"

The Agate groaned. "What kind of an Agate am I who can't even control a bunch of Rubies?" she mumbled. "4ND, do you think you can contain them while I'm in there?"

The Ruby she was speaking to, her gem on her left eye, and wearing a visor, saluted. "As you wish, My Agate," she said.

Red Lace Agate nodded. "That's why you're the reliable one," she said. "Just keep them from disrupting the proceedings."

Ruby 4ND nodded before turning to face her fellow Rubies. "Listen up, you lot!" she shouted. "Our Agate doesn't want to be disturbed, so shut up and sit still!" Surprisingly, the other Rubies obeyed her commands without so much as a complaint.

Red Lace left her soldiers behind, entering the main hall. Within the expansive room sat a table showing a map of one of the many solar systems still under Interloper control. Several other Agates, Red couldn't be bothered to count them all, surrounded the table. Red took her place beside a friend of hers. "So, have we started yet?" she asked.

"Not yet," grumbled Moss Agate. "We're still waiting on Pyrope, as usual."

Red Lace chuckled. "Again? What does that make this, the third meeting in a row she's been late?"

"Fourth," the Agate on Red's left side, a Holly Blue, interjected. "And if you bring it up, she'll just say _we're_ early."

Red stifled a laugh. "Sheesh, with how she holds herself, you'd think she'd have better time management skills!"

Moss Agate nodded. "True, true. What does she even do that's so important to make her late for all our meetings?"

"I'll tell you what," a Fire Agate next to Moss said. "It's the other Garnets. She's got it in her head they don't respect her, and she feels the need to counter anything she sees as a slight against her."

"So, pretty much anything they do, then," said Red. "Maybe they'd respect her more if she could make it to the appointments she set."

"I doubt it," the Fire Agate said. "She's kind of a joke."

"Fire, you're just sore she yelled at you that one time," said a fifth Agate.

"Wouldn't _you_ be!?" Fire countered. "I mean, all I did was correct her calculations!"

"Yeah, by implying she wasn't qualified for her position," said Red. "That one's kind of on you."

"What, are you on her side now?" Fire Agate said indignantly.

Red Lace held up her hands. "Look, all I'm saying is this: incompetent or not, I have no doubt she could kick all our asses at once. That's why she's in charge."

"I have to agree with you there," said Moss Agate as Fire Agate sulked. "Still, I can't help but feel she strong-arms us quite a bit."

"Hey, it's no different than what we do," Red responded. "We're Agates, strong-arming other Gems is our _job_."

"Speaking of which, were you having some trouble with your Rubies earlier?" said the Holly Blue Agate without looking up.

Red Lace blushed. "Was it really that obvious?"

Moss Agate laughed, covering her mouth with her hand. "I hate to say it, but it absolutely was! We could hear them carrying on before they even walked into the building."

Red Lace shook her head in exasperation, but couldn't help smiling. "Hey, they're Rubies, okay? When they don't have anything to do, they can get kind of rambunctious!"

"We know, we know, we're just teasing you," Moss Agate assured her. "Still, it must be hard putting up with all of those Rubies at once!"

"In all honesty, it is," said Red Lace, nodding. "Still, it's worth it just to see how they turn out. In fact, one of my best and brightest captains is out there keeping the peace right now!"

Moss Agate turned her ear towards the door. "Huh. She's actually doing a really good job. I can't even hear any noise out there anymore."

"Just watch, that's probably because they all left," Red Lace joked. "I'll probably have to go round them all up after the meeting!" Both she and Moss shared a laugh at this prospect.

"The Peridots may be boring, but at least they behave themselves," Moss Agate said.

"Speaking of Peridots, I heard about Alpus Beta," said Red Lace. "Some Gems are saying it wasn't suitable for colonization, but they're going through with it anyway. What exactly is that about?"

"Oh, that," Moss said. "It isn't so much that it's unsuitable, it's just below our usual standards. We don't really know why, but it's most likely the Interlopers interfered with the organic life somehow. It's expected that all of the Peridots will be off-colored when they emerge."

Red Lace's expression darkened. "Oh. That's tragic. Did the higher-ups say what they were going to do about it?"

Moss shook her head. "Not much they _can_ do. When so many Gems emerge off-colored in one spot, the only thing they can do is find some sort of workaround. Did you know they're actually working on some sort of mechanism to give the Peridots the means to perform their functions normally?"

"And what sort of mechanism would that be?" asked Red Lace.

"I don't know the details yet," said Moss Agate, "but I do know it's some sort of prosthetic. Their calling them 'limb enhancers.'"

"Well, there you go," said Red. "That's really all the details you need to know right there."

"I suppose so," Moss said. "Really, I'm just glad they won't all be shattered."

"Not really much reason to shatter Gems anymore, unless they did something bad," said Red. "Not enough colony-worthy planets to go around anymore."

"Especially since the Earth War," Holly Blue said. "Call me crazy, but I can't help but think the Interlopers were behind that, somehow."

"What, like _they_ shattered Pink Diamond?" asked Red.

"Not something that direct," said Holly, "but think about it: Pink Diamond is shattered, leaving Homeworld vulnerable to attack from a competitor we didn't even know existed. It just seems a bit too perfect in my eyes."

"Eh, it could just be a coincidence," Red said. "These sorts of things usually are."

"Coincidence or not, they were waiting for it," Holly Blue said. "They knew Pink Diamond had been shattered within days of it happening. Even if they weren't involved, they were definitely watching us."

Fire Agate scoffed. "You're just being paranoid, Blue! If they really are watching our every move, you'd think they'd be better at predicting our next moves."

"Is Pyrope here yet?" asked Red. "I can only take so much small talk in one sitting."

Holly Blue Agate snickered. "I hear you there. What's taking her so long, anyway?"

Another of the Agates sighed. "I'll go look for her," she said, walking out the door and down the hallway.

"Make sure the Rubies are still down there while you're at it!" Red jokingly called after her. "So, Moss, anything else on your mind?"

The green Agate shook her head. "Nothing new. It's been the same old, same old for years now. I'm kind of hoping for a shock to the system."

"You and me both," Red Lace Agate muttered.

The other Agate ran back into the room. "Places everyone, Pyrope's on her way!"

Each of the Agates stood at attention around the table as their commander arrived. Nothing of note was to take place in that meeting. Just Pyrope rambling on about Interlopers, how another one of their bases had been taken. Same old, same old indeed.

* * *

"Former Science Minister Heliodor speaking. Project: Birthstone log entry nine. Given the last few entries were...unsatisfactory...I retook control of the project from Cinnabar. No matter, as I have completed work on test subject designated 'April.'"

"Allow me to clarify. In order to take Project: Birthstone to its full potential, I needed to take some creative liberties with the design process. Rather than an actual Gem, I've attached inert rods made of crystallized carbon to the subject. The purpose behind these rods is to act as a receptacle for Gem-based energy."

"You see, by extracting the energy from within a gemstone rather than using the gemstone itself, I've found that there is no upper limit to how powerful one of these creatures can become. If I am able to drain the energy of enough Gems, I can create a being powerful enough to reach-no, to surpass the Diamonds!"

"Of course, in order to accomplish this, I'll need..._many_ more volunteers. Considering the way things are going, I believe I have a way to acquire them! But that's for later. End log."


	18. November

Chapter 18: November

* * *

_Rulax-14._

"Move! Run!" yelled Doc. The Rubies scampered through the tunnels, away from some unseen threat.

"That didn't work at all!" yelled Navy. "You just made it angrier!"

"Hey, we can't all be strategists!" countered Eyeball. "At least I tried _something_!"

Off in the distance, a loud bellow echoed through the tunnels, signifying that their next foe was growing closer. Outclassed by this enemy, their only hope was to hide behind a boulder and hope they could come up with another plan.

Before they reached their hiding spot, Leggy was unlucky enough to trip. Army turned, and ran back towards her comrade.

"Ruby, we need to hurry!" urged Doc. Army picked Leggy up off the ground, pulling her by the hand around the boulder. Just as the pair joined the others, a wall behind them gave way and smashed open.

Out from the dust and rubble climbed a truly massive beast, easily the largest the group had yet encountered. With six limbs, a stocky body, and thick grey, almost black skin, the monster was built for power. It brought its single horn close to the ground, snuffling in the dirt for the Rubies' scent.

The beast tramped around the room as its tiny eyes scanned for its prey. The Rubies clumped closer together to avoid its line of sight, even though they were still behind cover.

"Does anyone have any other ideas?" Doc whispered.

"You're supposed to be our leader, why don't _you_ have any?" hissed Eyeball.

"Shut it!" Doc hissed back. "In case you didn't realize, your plan didn't solve anything!"

"Can we maybe stay on task, please?" asked Navy. "Ruby, what do we know about this thing?"

"Well, it's big," Army replied. "Also, it's protected by a thick carap- carpap- capara- it's armored. None of our weapons did anything."

"Okay then, that's something," Navy said. "We'll need something bigger to do any real damage."

"Bigger, eh? I think we can manage!" said Doc. "Rubies, form up!"

With that, the Rubies leapt out from their hiding spot to converge. Doc jumped up atop Leggy, with Navy and Army holding on to the side. Eyeball jumped on top of the four of them. They glowed with a bright light as the five of them began to fuse.

Before the process could be completed, the monster whipped around, alerted by the light. The yellow-orange Topaz gemstone between its shoulder blades began to glow, as did the inside of its throat. Light the same color as its gem shone through its needle-like teeth, growing brighter and brighter, before a giant beam of solar radiation shot forth from its mouth.

The Rubies only had a split second to react to this. Eyeball jumped off the formation to the side. Leggy crouched down lower than she already was. Navy fell off and dove aside.

It was Doc, in the center of the formation, who was at most risk from this beam. Seeing this, Army, rather than run to safety, pushed her captain to safety instead. This, however, put her at risk in her place.

The beam streaked through the air, narrowly missing four of the five Rubies. It was hot as the surface of a sun, with even the heat-resistant Rubies feeling it's burning wrath. The beam collided with the wall at the other end of the room, which went up in an enormous explosion. Only when the dust settled did Army's gem clatter to the ground.

"Shard! Ruby's down!" shouted Eyeball.

Not wasting any time, Navy ran over to pick up her fallen crewmember. The monster roared at the group, charging forward for a second attack.

Slow and lumbering, the beast was nonetheless powerful. It struck out at the Rubies with shovel-like claws, creating deep divots in the ground when it missed.

As the woefully one-sided battle continued, the cave floor grew more and more unstable. Before long, cracks began to appear underneath the combatants.

"Captain! The floor!" shouted Leggy to Doc. But it was too late.

The floor beneath them gave way, sending Ruby and monster alike into the depths below.

* * *

Some time later, Navy pulled herself up out of the dust and dirt, slightly dazed. She found that she was still tightly clutching Army's gem.

"Oh. That's something at least," she said to herself. "Guys? What's it looking like out there? Is it dead?" No reply. "Are _you_ dead?" Still no reply.

Navy rummaged through the debris she had emerged from, but found no trace of the other Rubies. "Okay, so, the bad news: no gemstones," she said. "But, the good news: no gem shards! So that means they're still around here somewhere."

The Ruby scanned her surroundings. She had fallen into a network of caves, these ones much more natural-looking than the main ones carved out by Heliodor's crew. Judging by the size, it seemed likely the creature itself had dug these tunnels.

"Well, looks like we're in it's house," Navy mused. "Looks like it's just you and me, Ruby!" she said to Army's gem. With that, she set off down into the tunnels to search for her missing teammates.

"Wonder where they could have gone?" she wondered aloud. "Any ideas?" She looked down at Army, half-heartedly hoping for guidance. As expected, Army said nothing.

"That's fine, you rest up," Navy said. "You'll need to save your strength to fight that big ugly thing!" Just then Navy arrived at a crossroads. "Okay, Ruby, at least tell me this: left or right?"

Navy held Army's gem up to both tunnels, hoping the regenerating Gem could somehow convey a choice to her; perhaps by glowing brighter down the preferred path. But Army offered no such help.

"Well, we can't just turn back!" she said. "I know! I'll flip you; heads for right, tails for left...Wait, how am I supposed to tell which side is which? Ah, what the heck, I'll just go left!" And she did, setting off down the dark tunnel illuminated only by the light from her gemstone.

"I hope just being alone for a few minutes made me crazy enough to talk to you while you're in there," Navy said. "Am I crazy? What if I was already crazy, but being alone just made it more obvious?" Concerned, Navy looked down to Army's gem. "You don't think I'm crazy, do you?" Once more, no reply.

"I knew you'd understand!" Navy said, pressing the gem against her cheek. "Now, let's get out of here before I go crazy for real!"

Before long, Navy arrived at what appeared to be a much bigger, more open chamber than usual. The floor seemed to be covered in dust as well. More dust than the rest of the tunnels, in any case.

"Did that thing dig this room out, too?" Navy asked nobody. "Hold on a moment. What's that?"

Over in the corner of the room sat what could only be described as a cocoon. Navy, having no concept of cocoons, was unaware of just what it was, but approached anyway. Upon closer inspection, it was brownish in color, and seemingly growing out of the wall.

"This is a new one," Navy said. She felt the outside of the strange formation. It had a texture similar to dead, dried leaves, only much harder. As her light shone on the object, it seemed to pass right through the outer shell.

"Am I really going crazy, or is something in there?" she said. Shining her light across the formation, there were indeed multiple shapes floating within. It was impossible to make out any definite details, but she could tell the shapes were slightly larger than a Ruby.

Looking off to the side, down another tunnel, Navy saw that this was only one of many strange formations. "This is getting weirder and weirder," she said. "Should we do something?" She stared into Atmy's gem. "Yeah, you're right, we should probably get moving."

A scream that could only have come from Leggy cut through the darkness. "That sounded like Ruby!" said Navy. "Come on, let's go!"

Navy and her partner ran through the tunnels towards the source of the noise. Stumbling over cracks and loose pebbles, Navy nevertheless charged forward.

Soon she arrived on a rocky outcropping overlooking a large round room. There, on the lower level, the three other Rubies were futilely trying to fight back against the rampaging beast. The room was relatively small and had no exits at their level, so they had no way to escape without dealing with this threat first.

"What do we do now?" asked Navy. Army offered no helpful insight. "What do you mean, 'nothing we can do?' There's gotta be _some_ way we can kill this thing!" Just then, Navy's mind was drawn to Doc's original plan. She was down three Rubies, but it just might be enough.

"Alright, you ready?" she asked. "Hey, I don't see you having any better plans! Alright, here goes nothing!"

Navy concentrated, holding Army's gem close to her left arm. Though she was uncertain of the plan working at first, soon the two of them began to glow. Navy nearly doubled in size, Army's gem taking its place on her arm.

"Huh. Surprised that worked!" the two-Ruby fusion said. "Let's see what we have to work with here…" The Ruby summoned both of her component Gems' weapons. "Okay, how about…" She attached two of Navy's fans to the sides of Army's mace. Her new weapon then formed: a double-headed battle axe.

"Now we're talkin'!" she said. The two-Ruby fusion, let's call her 'Arvy,' gripped the axe tightly in her hands. The blades began to glow with heat.

"Geronimo!" she yelled, leaping down with her axe outstretched. She brought it down with all of her strength, the weapon severing the monster's right arm effortlessly.

"It's Ruby! Ruby's back!" cried Leggy.

"They're both back," Eyeball said. "What are they playing at?"

"They're saving us, that's what they're playing at!" replied Doc.

Its limb having been severed, the monster was understandable miffed at Arvy. It turned to face her, and began charging up another beam.

"Not this time!" Arvy said. She charged forward, sliding under the beam as it fired, which created a handy exit hole in the process. Arvy swung her axe into the monster's neck, creating a sizeable gash from which yellow-orange light shone.

The monster thought little of this wound, and spun around to fire another beam at all of the Rubies. The incision left by Arvy had been much more calculated than first thought, however, as solar energy began to rush from this hole.

"You might wanna step back," warned Arvy.

Sure enough, this redirection of energy proved to be the monster's undoing. Unable to control the flow of its beam any longer, a massive explosion shook the room. The monster fell to the ground with a tremendous thud, now minus a head and neck.

Her job completed, Arvy defused back into Army and Navy. The latter was ecstatic, while the former looked around in slight confusion. "Is it over? Did we do it?" asked Army.

"You sure did!" said Eyeball. She turned to Navy. "Hey, that was some fine work. One more of Heliodor's freaks down!"

The Rubies crowded around Navy in celebration. Army did as well, but she was not quite as happy as her expression conveyed.

_I didn't really do anything_, she thought. _She did all the work, I was just along for the ride. Is that all I am_?"

Army had little time to brood, however, as the group soon departed towards the surface.

"Hopefully there aren't many more of these things," Doc said. "I think I liked Rulax-14 better when there was some peace and quiet!"

"You can say that again!" Navy said. In all the excitement, she had forgotten about the strange object she had found in the caves.


	19. Heliodor

Chapter 19: Heliodor

* * *

Subject #01

Designation: July

Gemstone: Ruby

Species: Prahvax

Comments: My first experiment in Gem-organic hybridization turned out to be far more successful than I had initially anticipated. The organic used was a prahvax, a fairly sizeable creature, so there was much more room for the geo-energy to flow. I volunteered one of the Ruby guards overseeing my trial for the experiment. I have little doubt that she won't be missed. Attempts to increase the creature's aggression have proven highly successful. With any luck, Project: Birthstone will prove vital in Homeworld's war against threats such as the Interlopers.

* * *

Subject #02

Designation: December

Gemstone: Zircon

Species: Cracetor

Comments: In many ways, December is quite like the opposite of July. The organic test subject used is much smaller, and the Gem used, a Zircon, is much less powerful. Specifically, the Zircon I acquired for this test is the very same one who stripped me of my position as Science Minister! Quite a bit of poetic justice there, I should think. As for the subject itself, despite what I assumed would be shortcomings, the geo-transferring process went swimmingly. Though marginally less of a threat, December still possesses that same aggression I intended for all of the subjects. However, I believe that these creatures have far more potential just waiting to be unlocked...

* * *

Subject #03

Designation: August

Gemstone: Peridot

Species: Xevellan

Comments: I had the fortune of coming across this already-deceased specimen after an apparently-failed raid on the colony planet of Ardax-5. I had not intended to proceed with experimentation so soon, but the opportunity was too good to pass up! The gemstone was easy to come by as well, as there are no shortage of Peridots in my employ. I do wish they wouldn't complain so much when I volunteer them, though. August is unique as far as Project: Birthstone goes, as it is living proof that sentient races can be utilized as test subjects without risk of ruining the experiment by way of independent thought.

* * *

Subject #04

Designation: June

Gemstone: Pearl

Species: Human

Comments: At times, I wonder to myself if the sacrifices involved in creating these weapons are not worth the reward. I have to push these thoughts to the back of my mind if I'm to make any progress. Morality and sentimentality are non-issues where the good of the whole empire is concerned. Obtaining the organic specimen was far easier: simply a human taken from Blue Diamond's zoo. It was a simple in-and-out job. Nobody suspected a thing, and nobody will miss it.

* * *

"Former Science Minister Heliodor speaking. Project: Birthstone log entry ten. Cinnabar has proven to me once again that she cannot be trusted with such vital matters. When informed of my plan to activate the subject April, she attempted to dissuade me on the grounds of morality. She then attempted to escape, with hopes of turning me in. Naturally, I allowed her to escape. She has only sped up the process of bringing April to life. End log."

* * *

Subject #05

Designation: February

Gemstone: Amethyst

Species: Gytheris

Comments: February is exactly the kind of creation I intended to bring about with Project: Birthstone. Nothing more than a living weapon, able to be controlled and unleashed upon Homeworld's enemies. I was doubtful of using a gytheris at first, but the results exceeded my expectations. Using such a creature was Cinnabar's suggestion; she may be useless where practicality is concerned, though she does come in handy from time to time. I'd even go so far as to say she knows even more about organics than I do!

* * *

Subject #06

Designation: October

Gemstone: Opal

Species: Spliphict

Comments: I've had my sights set too low for far too long now. If I truly want to take Project: Birthstone to the next level, I'll have to take risks. True, using higher-class Gems in my experiments is what got me stripped of my position in the first place, but what would it matter now? So long I can acquire volunteers without raising too many alarms, the experiments will continue as normal.

* * *

Subject #07

Designation: September

Gemstone: Sapphire

Species: Ephemeroid

Comments: An ephemeroid was an unusual choice for a test subject, but I chose to move forward on Cinnabar's word. While not groundbreaking by any means, September has shown to be...passable. Its lack of offensive ability is made up for by its precognitive ability. Let us hope that November and January are able to meet my expectations, what with Cinnabar overseeing the procedures.

* * *

Subject #08

Designation: November

Gemstone: Topaz

Species: Gurront

Comments: A gurront seemed like the perfect choice to pair with a Topaz, with the both of them being dull-witted brutes. November is easily the largest subject so far, beating even July in this regard. However, both of these pale in comparison to April! However, Cinnabar will continue with the tests regardless, and I alone will get April prepared for geo-transference.

* * *

"Project: Birthstone log entry eleven."

Heliodor seemed disheveled, walking around the compound holding the recording device in her hand. She moved quickly, as if waiting for something.

"I've received word Cinnabar has reported my doings to the Homeworld authorities. She's always been such a petty coward. Nevertheless, this was all according to plan. Once they send a squadron to arrest me, I'll have plenty of fuel just waiting to be diverted into my latest and greatest creation! You there, are the systems in place?"

Heliodor approached a nervous-looking Peridot standing by a console. "Um, y-yes, My Heliodor. All of the systems are working as intended. Now, can-"

Heliodor cut her off. "Excellent! Now all we have to do is wait right here." She walked over to a Jasper. "Make sure absolutely _no one_ leaves. Understood?"

The Jasper nodded, looking just as frightened as the Peridot.

Heliodor turned the camera around to show her face, wearing a psychotic grin. "End log."

* * *

Subject #09

Designation: January

Gemstone: Garnet

Species: Alpranda

Comments: While January's capabilities as a weapon are nothing special when compared to the other subjects, it possesses an attribute I never anticipated one of these monsters to possess: the ability to follow orders. Up until now, we've seen these creatures as little more than engines of raw destruction, but January proves that certain factors render them susceptible to suggestion at the very least. It seems others are unable to control it as I can, however. No matter, this makes it even more effective. The best weapons are those your enemy cannot use against you.

* * *

Subject #10

Designation: March

Gemstone: Aquamarine

Species: Geltrid

Comments: Much like January, I find that I am able to exhibit some semblance of control over March. I have deduced that this is due to the perfected process of geo-transference. However, I am unable to conduct more research into this field as I am too occupied with the subject designated April. Cinnabar will have to make due until I return.

* * *

Subject #11

Designation: May

Gemstone: Emerald

Species: Plarax

Comments: Due to the plarax's diet of electricity, an Emerald seemed the logical choice for this test. Acquiring an Emerald for use in this test was less a choice to create a more powerful monster, and more another experiment in and of itself. An experiment to see just how far I could push my boundaries until Homeworld took notice of my activities. Sure enough they suspect something is wrong. It is only a matter of time before they come looking for me. We may have to move procedures elsewhere; but I can't just abandon April…

* * *

Subject #12

Designation: April

Gemstone: (Classified)

Species: Albraxis

Comments: This is it. My ultimate creation. The pinnacle of my research, the result of all my efforts. Soon, Homeworld will see what I am capable of.

* * *

The video began, but Heliodor did not speak this time. She sat silently in front of the camera, patiently waiting for something to happen. The sounds of movement and urgent conversations could be heard just outside of the room.

The relative silence was broken when the door was smashed open by a battalion of Quartz soldiers. The Quartzes, consisting of all sorts of varieties, ran around to secure the room. Heliodor's personnel all threw their hands in the air, and even her own Quartzes refused to fight back.

One of these Quartzes, a particularly imposing Carnelian, approached Heliodor. "Heliodor Facet 5X Cut 8Y7, you are under arrest for the kidnapping of numerous Gems, unsanctioned experimentation with geo-transference, and the theft of Homeworld property. How do you plead?"

Heliodor only grinned. She stood up to face her accuser. "Guilty, I suppose. I certainly did do all those things you mentioned. But, tell me, why are you here to arrest me? I am merely trying to do what is best for Homeworld."

"The Diamonds sent us to shut this place down," the Carnelian responded. "If what your little buddy says is true, you've got a lot to answer for." She gestured behind her, where Cinnabar was hiding behind two Amethysts.

"I'm sorry, My Heliodor," she said. "Someone had to do something."

"But I _am_ doing something!" Heliodor said to nobody in particular. "My work here will prove necessary to defeating the Interlopers and saving Homeworld!"

"You keep telling yourself that," said the Carnelian.

"Before I go, peacefully at that," Heliodor said, "would you at least like to have a look at my magnum opus? It isn't quite finished yet, but it is _quite_ magnificent!"

The Carnelian in charge walked over to debate with two of her fellows. They soon came to a conclusion. "Very well. It should make for some good evidence against you, at least."

"Now that's what I like to hear!" said Heliodor. "Peridot, if you would?"

"M-My Heliodor, are you absolutely certain that-"

"Push the button, _now_!"

Frightened, the Peridot did so. Knowing what was about to happen, Cinnabar ran for the door; just in time, too, as it immediately slammed shut as soon as she passed through it.

Panels on the walls and ceiling rearranged to make way for numerous generators. Centrifuges within the machines began to rotate, faster and faster, until a yellow-colored energy filled the room.

To the horror of every Gem but Heliodor, their physical bodies began to dissolve. Panic broke out behind Heliodor as the Quartzes tried to break their way back through the door, but to no avail. The Peridot who had pressed the button merely watched in horror as her limbs vanished.

The Carnelian weakly crawled towards Heliodor. "What did you do, you maniac!?" she asked weakly.

Heliodor laughed. "I did say my masterpiece was unfinished, didn't I? I'm simply adding the finishing touches, is all!"

As the Gems' energy was absorbed, all that was left of them were their gemstones, now turned a pale grey by the geo-transference process. Heliodor was the only one that remained, and even she was becoming weaker by the second.

She picked up the camera. "To anyone watching this recording...this is what progress...looks like!" With that, Heliodor collapsed to the ground with the camera beside her. Her body faded away, leaving only a gemstone which was soon drained of color.

When all the Gems were completely drained, a tremendous roar split the air, followed by a powerful tremor. Something large and unseen tore through the foundation just out of view of the camera, causing the footage to shake violently. The lights went out as the rumbling subsided, leaving the camera filming a darkened room in silence.


	20. September

Chapter 20: September

* * *

_Rulax-14_.

"Okay, I think I hate this one the most," Eyeball said. "Of all the monsters we've fought here so far, this one is my least favorite."

At the urging of Moss Agate once more, the Rubies had again descended into the depths to pursue an organic that had been harassing her. Each time they got closer to it and tried to attack, it dodged their assault. Eyeball was clearly getting tired of it.

"I get what you mean," said Army. "Look at it, floating up there! It's like it's mocking us!"

The creature was indeed floating in the air a short distance away, just out of their reach. It barely looked like a creature at all. It appeared more like a shawl, colorless and see-through, undulating in the air. The only standout feature was a purple Sapphire gemstone that seemed to act like an eye.

"Everyone quiet, I want to try something," said Navy. She pulled a fan from her gem, reeled back her arm, and threw it at the beast. Just like the last several times she had done so, the monster dodged the weapon with a near-supernatural speed. That would be its Sapphire powers.

"This is getting nowhere," said Army. "How do you kill something that knows you're coming for it?"

"How about this:" said Navy. "I'll get it to come over to you guys, and you kill it before it can dodge!"

"How is that going to be any different?" said Doc.

"A Sapphire can predict the future, but that doesn't mean she can change it. If we corner it with only bad options, it'll have to choose one of them."

"I suppose it's worth a shot," Doc said. "Everyone get into place. If we're lucky, we'll be out of here before too long."

Navy moved to flank the creature while the other Rubies hunkered down. The plan was to make it so no matter where the creature dodged to, one of them would hit it. Doc gave Navy the thumbs-up, prompting the Ruby to ready her weapons. She threw two fans: one directly at the creature, one just a bit above it. This had the intended effect of sending the monster closer to the ground, where Navy slashed at it again, driving it towards the waiting Rubies.

All four of them sprung the trap. They all struck at it, not anticipating it would simply dodge upwards.

"Shoot, it can fly," said Navy. "I forgot about that!"

Army swung her mace over her head at the creature, only for it to dodge out of the way yet again. Frustrated, she flailed her weapon wildly, accidentally bonking Doc in the head.

"Argh, again!?" the Ruby said, rubbing her head. Army paid her no attention, continuing to swing at the monster.

None of the Rubies could land a single hit on the beast. Rather than flee, it flitted and darted in between them, almost as if it was indeed mocking them.

The one who came the closest to dealing any sort of damage was Leggy. While the creature was flying back and forth, Leggy had ran towards it in hopes of catching it unawares. In her eyes, the creature would be too busy predicting the movements of the other Rubies to predict hers. Naturally, this was not the case. As she approached, the creature made a sudden move in her direction, startling her enough to drop her shovel. Instead of running away, Leggy opted to try and hide behind her own hands. When the creature flew above her, she managed to grab onto it, sending her up into the air with it.

"Ruby, what are you doing?" asked Doc. "What was your plan here?"

"There wasn't one!" shouted Leggy fearfully. The monster carried her up into the air, though it didn't make much effort to shake her off.

Then, of course, came the tremor. The entire cave seemed to shake, making the Rubies brace themselves once more. The monster seemed to be agitated by the quake, flying around in all directions, before flying down to the lower levels with Leggy in tow.

"Ruby, can you hear me?" Navy shouted down into the caverns. "Are you okay?"

"I'm okay, but I don't know where I am!" came the very distant reply from Leggy.

"You just stay down there, newbie!" said Doc. "Don't move, we'll come down to you!" She turned to make her way down to where Leggy had fallen, only to see that Eyeball was not behind her. "Oh, boy." She looked back down to see Eyeball climbing down the precipice. "Ruby, what exactly are you doing?"

"Taking a shortcut," replied Eyeball. "You coming, or what?"

"No, we're not coming," said Doc in exasperation. "We'll meet you down there. Try not to hurt yourself." With that, Doc left to take the longer but safer way down into the caves, Army and Navy following close behind her.

"Yup, I'm not a big fan of these things," Navy said. "I get what Heliodor was going for, but why couldn't she have made something a bit more, I dunno, controllable. Having monsters that just attack the first thing they see seems like bad business! I think if I was in her place, I would have…"

While Navy continued to ramble, Army walked over next to Doc. "So, Captain, everything alright with you?" Doc said nothing. "Anyways, Cap, I've had something I've been meaning to ask you."

Doc only groaned in response. She was still sore-in more ways than one.

"I've been wondering: have I been contributing to the team in any meaningful way lately? I just feel like I'm just sort of...there."

"If hitting me in the head repeatedly is your idea of contribution, then you're the MVP," Doc said irritably.

"That isn't exactly what I meant," Army continued. "Sorry about that, though. I was just thinking that everyone on this team has some sort of _thing_ going for them, for lack of a better word. I mean, think about it: You're a great leader, Ruby fought in the Earth War, Ruby's much smarter than average, and Ruby...well, Ruby's super lovable. But me? What do I have that sets me apart?"

"Simple. You're the angry one," Doc said.

"But that's expected of Rubies!" said Army. "All of you have something that makes them different than the average Ruby; all except me. I'm just...a normal, unremarkable Ruby."

"Better than being an off-colored Ruby," Doc said. "I doubt Homeworld would like that."

"I guess," Army said. "Still, I wish I had some sort of trademark, you know? Something to set me apart from the average Ruby."

Doc held out her arm, causing Army to freeze. She had seen something in front of them.

Navy continued to talk. "...but I think the best solution to that would be even _more_ fire! What do you guys think? Guys?" She stopped as well.

There was some sort of strange object in the dark in front of them. Doc turned on her light, and motioned for the other two to follow her. The strange object was definitely not a natural cave formation: it was brownish in color, appearing to be almost organic in its texture. The light from the trio's gems shone through the surface, revealing smaller objects floating within.

"Shard, I've seen this before!" whispered Navy. "Back when I was in those tunnels with Ruby, we ran into something that looked just like this!"

"What is it?" wondered Doc aloud. She placed her hand on the surface. It felt hard, but hollow, as if it would be easily break open. Doc decided against doing so.

"Is this the same one?" asked Army.

"No, that one was a ways away," Navy explained. "This is a new one. Where do you think they're coming from?"

Before either Doc or Army could come up with an answer, another tremor shook the ground. This one was much more violent before, almost sending the Rubies airborne. The quake also had the side effect of breaking through the strange object.

The tremor subsided after only a few seconds. While the Rubies were picking themselves up, something burst through the surface of the strange object.

"What the!?" shouted Army. Before she could ready her weapon, this entity, a flying creature of some sort, pulled itself out from the mystery object and down the corridors, screeching up a storm.

"That was the thing!" Navy shouted. "Remember when we were fighting that Aquamarine bug, and that flying thing killed it! That was one of those!"

"So this thing and that thing are connected," Doc said. "I wonder how this all ties into Proj-"

At least seven more flying creatures burst forth from their cocoon. Not even giving the Rubies a second glance, all of them flew down the same corridor as the first one. Shouts could be heard in the distance.

"That sounds like Ruby and Ruby!" noticed Navy. "Come on, let's follow them!"

Navy then ran down the caves after the creatures, Army and Doc close behind her. They followed the sounds of commotion, eventually coming to a big open room. Eyeball and Leggy, as well as the Sapphire creature, were being attacked by the flying monsters. Some of them lay dead around Eyeball, who continued to swing her knife at the ones that were divebombing her.

"Hang on, Ruby, help has arrived!" Doc said. "Rubies! Weapons out!" The three of them summoned their weapons, charging into the fray.

Whatever these beasts were, they were relentless, attacking not only the Rubies, but going after the other monster as well. The creature was faring slightly better, but only because it knew when and where to dodge.

"We should spread out!" said Navy. "They'll probably split up if we give them multiple targets!"

"Works for me," said Doc. The Rubies split off into the four corners of the room, splitting the monsters' attention between them. Army stayed by Leggy's side, who was still getting her bearings.

With Leggy behind her, Army felt invigorated somehow. She _needed_ to keep her charge safe. As she bashed any monster that flew too close, she realized that this is what she was meant for. Rubies are often used as bodyguards, but when she was protecting her friend, Army felt a sense of duty unlike anything she had felt before. She then knew what set her apart from other Rubies: her passion. Her determination. Her drive to complete the mission she was given at any cost, especially if it meant protecting someone she cared about. At long last, she had found her calling.

On the other side of the room, Doc was beset by flying beasts as well. As she drove them away with her sword again and again, she saw the shape of the original creature out of the corner of her eye.

This first monster was diving to her side, a winged beast was approaching from the other, it's teeth bared to attack. The ethereal beast would no doubt avoid this attack, and turn towards Doc. Without even thinking, the Ruby readied her sword.

Sure enough, the creature turned and flew directly towards her. Doc swung her sword, and the creature was unable to move in time. Her blade cleaved through both monsters.

After much combat, all of the creatures were finally slain. Eyeball pushed one of the dead beasts off of her, panting heavily.

"Well," she said, "I'd call that a job well done."

"I would too," Army said, helping Leggy to her feet. "I don't know about you all, but despite what just happened, I feel pretty good."

"Ruby is happy? There's a new one!" Leggy joked.

"That's all fine and good," Doc said, "but that still leaves the question of where those things came from in the first place."

"Maybe...maybe they're April," said Navy.

"April? What the frack is April?" asked Eyeball.

"It's a long story," Navy said. "Come on, I'll tell you about it on the way back to the surface. See, it all started when…"


	21. August

Chapter 21: August

* * *

Ever vigilant, Eyeball scanned over the horizon from a balcony on an upper floor of the hall of archives. She wasn't even sure what she was looking for; after all, if another one of Heliodor's monsters was going to come to the surface, it would come through the door inside the archive. Nevertheless, her single eye watched out across the vast emptiness for any sign of movement.

Where her crewmates were, Diamonds only knew. It may have been for the best this way. She didn't hate them, or even dislike them, but they could be a bit much sometimes. Rowdy, ignorant-all the traits the rest of Homeworld looked down on Rubies for. Not that she was any better, despite what she told herself.

It was then that another quake shook the area. The entire facility rocked like a boat on turbulent waters. Eyeball would have been thrown from her perch had she not gripped the railing hard enough to leave imprints of her fingers. The tremor was short, but powerful. They had been growing increasingly stronger since their last expedition, and, worryingly, more frequent. This was the third one today.

After getting her bearings, Eyeball saw exactly what she was looking for: a figure could be clearly seen in the distance. The figure itself was blurry from the distance, but it was very clearly there. All that could be determined about it was that it was a dark green color. It speedily walked into the distance before seeming to vanish into the ground.

Eyeball wasn't about to let this stand. She vaulted over the guardrail, slid down the side of the building, and took off into the distance. After travelling about a mile, she found where the being had disappeared. A fairly large sinkhole had appeared in the Rulaxian crust. Peering down into the hole, Eyeball saw what seemed to be a crudely-constructed trellis made of assorted metal objects just above a deep chasm. The objects seemed to have been bent into place by an unstable hand, and were only held together because they were bent around each other. Despite the rickety look of the construct, Eyeball leapt down into the depths.

The Ruby activated her gem-light and looked around. It seemed that there was an entire structure made out of this scrap metal. All of it was mashed together as if it was an accident. Though it was too intricate to be accidental.

"Thought I'd find you down here."

The voice had come from behind Eyeball. She wheeled around, her hand reaching for her knife, only to find that Doc had followed her down the hole.

"What are _you_ doing down here?" Eyeball growled.

"Following you," responded Doc. She hopped down off the trellis to the other Ruby's level. "You can't just run off like that without telling me."

"And just why not? I'm my own Ruby, I think I can be trusted to make my own decisions." Neither Ruby noticed the figure creeping in the distance.

"'Why not?'" Doc said. "Because I'm your captain! You _have_ to do what I say! It's kind of the rules."

"I'm a captain, too, you know," Eyeball responded. "Plus, I've been one for longer, so I technically outrank you."

Doc walked closer. "In case you forgot, Red Lace Agate put me in charge."

"No, she put you in charge of our mission to Earth," countered Eyeball. "But we're not on Earth anymore, are we?"

The two Rubied drew closer as if to trade blows, but Doc saw something that Eyeball didn't. She yelled "Get down!" and pulled her crewmate to the ground. A bent piece of panelling flew just past them.

Both Rubies stood up and looked in the direction the projectile had come from. "I take it that's our target?" said Eyeball. Both of them shined their lights towards the figure.

The creature was fairly sizeable, just slightly shorter than a Quartz soldier. It was reptilian in appearance, possessing both green scales and a tail, in addition to armored spines running down its back. Its left arm was missing, a Peridot gem inserted into the stump. Numerous bits of scrap metal were messily woven into a crude imitation of the missing limb.

"Isn't that a Xevellan?" asked Doc. Unsurprisingly, the being didn't answer, opting instead to hurl more chunks of metal at the two of them. The Rubies dodged and weaved between its attacks as it retreated further into its structure. Drawing their weapons, the pair gave chase.

"As I was saying," Eyeball said as they ran, "I really should be the one in charge here instead of you."

"Ruby, is now really the time for this?" asked Doc.

"When else would be the time?" said Eyeball. "If I brought this up at any other time, you'd just ignore me, or get the other Rubies to back you up!"

The two had chased their target to the highest level of the structure. Just as they followed it down a hallway, it constricted its fist in their direction. The hallway twisted and crumpled, blocking them from chasing it further.

Doc began trying to tear through the obstruction. Eyeball seemed reluctant to let this issue go, however. "I would be a better captain than you, and you know it! What do you have that I don't?"

"Does it even matter?" said Doc, straining. "Red Lace Agate chose me, but that's in the past."

"Exactly!" cried Eyeball. "So why are you still the one in charge if it's in the past?"

"Enough!" said Doc, pointing her sword at the other Ruby. "Ruby, I'm giving you one last chance to drop it. I'm really not in the mood to put up with your nonsense right now. We've got more important things to deal with, so we'll continue this discussion later-"

Eyeball pushed Doc's sword out of the way, brandishing her knife. "If we drop this now, we'll never bring it up again, and you know it! You know what I think? I think you like being the one in control!" She pushed her face closer to Doc's. "I think you like having other Rubies to push around, 'cause it makes you feel big!"

Doc had had enough, and punched Eyeball to the ground. "When I say I've had enough," she said, "I mean _I've had enough_."

Eyeball quickly shook off the blow and lunged at Doc, who blocked her knife by grabbing on to her wrist. "You know what? I've had enough myself!" Eyeball said. "I'm sick of listening to some no-name Ruby who wasn't even there for the Earth War!"

"I have a name," Doc said. She whirled Eyeball around, slamming her against the blockage. The Ruby then fell limply to the ground, stunned. "I'm Ruby Facet 98SK Cut 2RH. I was promoted to captain by My Red Lace Agate, and appointed charge of this mission by the same. You wanna know why she put me in charge? Because I care about how this mission goes! I'm not in this for power of glory, all I care about is the good of Homeworld."

Eyeball shakily got to her feet. "I'm a better captain than you ever could be, and you know it! _I_ should have been the one to lead the mission to Earth! Red Lace Agate thought I was too mentally unstable, but-"

"But you just proved her right," Doc said. "Are you seriously so fragile that you fall to pieces just because you can't be in charge of every single situation of your life?"

"I earned this!" Eyeball said. "I refuse to be pushed aside in favor of you!"

"Whatever," Doc said, pushing Eyeball to the side. "If you're really so upset about this, go complain to Red Lace. Right now, we have a job to do."

Doc lifted her sword in front of her, the blade beginning to glow as she concentrated her heat powers into it. She swung the weapon, carving a deep cut out of the metal that stood in their way. Two more swings like it were enough to clear a path, which she then walked through.

The creature was prepared for them. It was stood on a metal platform floating over the abyss, numerous bits of metal orbiting it. When it saw Doc emerge into the open, it thrust its arms forward, sending a barrage of shrapnel in her direction.

Doc dove to the side, the metal shards impaling themselves into the wall behind her. Not intent on being evaded, the being raised its arms out to the side, causing the entire structure to start coming apart at the seams. The pieces of metal that made it up were ripped from their place, beginning to orbit around their controller.

One of these pieces happened to be the panelling directly beneath Doc. With the floor upturned, she began to slide down towards the edge of the cliff. Just as she was about to fall into the darkness, Eyeball grabbed onto her hand from a rocky outcropping. She pulled her leader to temporary safety.

"So, what's the plan, captain?" asked Eyeball. Most of her previous animosity hadn't vanished, but diminished.

Doc scanned their surroundings, looking for something they could use against this foe. As the structure continued to be torn apart, her eyes settled on something that could be useful. "There!" she exclaimed, pointing, before running over to it.

Eyeball followed her to a broken metal rod sticking up out of the ground. "That's it?" she asked. "What exactly were you planning on doing with this?"

"Can you stop doubting me for ten seconds?" Doc asked flippantly, pulling the metal rod from the dirt.

"Eyeball aided her. "I'm not doubting you, I'm just curious," she said. The rod was soon pulled from its resting place, though not only by the Rubies' hands: once it was removed from the cave floor, it began to be pulled towards the being. The creature was too focused on tearing its creation to pieces to focus on the Rubies, believing destroying the structure would finish them.

Doc was being pulled into the air. "I could use a hand here!" she said. Eyeball obliged, leaping up and grabbing onto her ankles. Their combined weight was enough to pull the object down.

"What do we do next?" Eyeball asked.

"He wants this metal so bad?" said Doc. "I say we give it to 'im!" Doc held the rod like a spear, aiming it directly at the being. "On my mark. Ready?"

Eyeball stood behind her, aiming at the back of the makeshift spear with her fist. "Ready!"

"Now!"

Eyeball punched the weapon with all her might. The rod easily slipped through Doc's grip, sailing directly at the beast. It bypassed all the other bits of metal as it sailed through the air, piercing directly through it. As a result, the creature was pinned to the wall on the other end of the cave. Its gemstone slowly stopped glowing.

With nothing to hold them up anymore, all the metal fell down into the chasm below. This included what remained of the structure. Doc and Eyeball quickly got out of the way as it came crashing down, making a deafening racket once it hit the bottom.

The two stood in silence for a moment. "So…" said Eyeball. "I don't usually like to admit when I'm wrong, but...I'll make an exception this one time."

More silence for a few more seconds. "Well?" said Doc. "Are you going to admit you were wrong?"

"Isn't that what I just did?" said Eyeball. "You know what, nevermind. Look, I'm sorry for acting like a real tool back there. You're right, I can't always be the best at everything. See, the reason I was so upset was I wanted to be the one who found Jasper, you know? She made me who I am today, and I just wanted to return the favor."

"I'll overlook it this one time," said Doc. "If it's any consolation, you were right, too. I do kinda like being in charge…" she blushed.

"I knew it," Eyeball said smugly.

"In any case, let's get out of here," Doc said. The pair set off to do just that, but were interrupted by another quake. This one, unlike the previous ones, was accompanied by what sounded like a tremendous roar.

Once the quake had ended, and the two Rubies got their bearings, a massive swarm of winged creatures erupted from out of the cavern below them. The monsters took to the skies, exiting the caves through the hole made by the tremors.

"That doesn't look good," Doc said. She walked over to the cliff, looking down into the darkness. Eyeball walked up after her.

"What's down there?" she asked. Upon looking down for herself, she saw nothing but black. That is, until the ground started shaking again. It was a much more gentle tremor this time, but much more sustained. That was when she saw it.

Something was climbing up out of the chasm.


	22. April, Part 1

Chapter 22: April, Part 1

* * *

Another tremor. This had been the third one today. They had been getting stronger since their last expedition, and, worryingly, more frequent. Recovering from the quake, Leggy picked herself off the ground, and picked up the communicator she had dropped.

"What was that about?" asked Red Lace Agate on the other end.

"Nothing, just a quake," Leggy said. "There's been a lot of those lately. Nothing too bad, though."

"'Nothing too bad?' It just shook you off your feet!" responded the Agate. "I'd say that's pretty bad if you ask me!"

"Well, they are pretty scary," Leggy said, "but they're not as bad as those Project: Birthstone creatures."

Red Lace was confused. "Project what? What are you talking about?"

"Oh, did I forget to mention that?" Leggy said. "Yeah, there's a bunch of monsters underground that come up to attack us every so often, so we have to deal with them."

It took a few seconds for Red Lace to register this. "Ruby..." she said, "that's the sort of thing you open a call with. You can ask how I am afterwards. In any case, why didn't you call me about this sooner?"

"Well, I figured we had it under control," said Leggy, sheepishly rubbing the back of her head.

"That may be so, but I would have sent more guards if I knew what you were dealing with. What did you call it, again? 'Project: Birthstone?'"

"Yeah," Leggy said. "Apparently, the Heliodor who was the previous Science Minister had a base here, and-"

"Heliodor?" said Red Lace, alarmed. "She's there? On Rulax-14?"

"Well, not anymore," Leggy said. "I think she was shattered. Or not shattered, but she did something to her gem, and all the other Gems too."

On the other end of the transmission, Red Lace Agate got to her feet. "I'm coming to pay you a visit. I should be there in half an hour or so. Stay put and wait for me, okay?"

"You got it! Uh, I mean, yes, My Agate!" Leggy said. The transmission cut off. Navy came around the corner.

"Have either of you seen the captain?" she asked.

Army was standing guard by the archive's door. "Nope. Ruby, either," she answered.

"Well, I'm worried about that quake," she said. "I just saw them not too long ago, but I can't find them. Do you think something happened to them?"

"Did you look down in the caves?" Leggy asked.

"I was guarding the entrance," said Navy. "If either of them went down in the caves, they would have had to go past me."

Just then, Moss Agate walked into the room. She seemed to be in a huff, more so than usual. "Can either of you Rubies explain to me," she said, irritated, "why two of your numbers just took off into the distance?"

"I think we have our answer," said Army.

"We were just looking for them," Navy said. "Did you see where they went?"

"No, but one of my Peridots did," she answered. "She told me the angry one took off running into the east, with your captain following not far behind her."

The Rubies looked at each other. Why had Doc and Eyeball run off like that, and why had they not told anyone?

"In any case, we should probably go looking for them," Moss Agate said.

"Alright, let's get-wait, 'we'" said Navy.

"Yes. I'm joining you, like it or not. I certainly don't. I just got a message from your Agate saying she's on her way, and I doubt she's be happy with me if some of her Rubies went missing."

"Okay then, lead the way!" said Navy.

"Don't tell me what to do," said Moss Agate. "I will lead the way, though. Of my own accord."

* * *

After trekking through the wilds for about a mile, the three Rubies and one Agate soon arrived at a large hole in the ground.

"This must be where they went," said Leggy.

"Why do you think they just wandered off?" asked Army, peering down into the hole. "Maybe they saw another creature, or something."

"I sure hope not," said Moss Agate. "I've had enough organics to last me a millenium, I don't need any more…"

It was at that exact moment that another quake hit. This one was accompanied by what sounded almost like a roar. Army staggered, almost falling into the hole had Navy not pulled her back.

"Not another one of these stupid things!" cried Moss Agate.

"You guys, there was something down there!" said Army.

"What kind of thing?" asked Leggy.

A gigantic swarm of the winged creatures the Rubies had encountered in the past erupted out of the sinkhole. Accompanied by a cacophonic screech, not only from the creatures themselves but also from Moss Agate, the swarm started circling above the group.

"Come on, guys!" said Army. "I saw the captain down there! We have to go help!" With that, Army jumped down into the hole and disappeared.

"'Help!?'" cried Moss Agate. "I think _we're_ the ones who need help right now!" But Leggy and Navy had already followed their comrade into the depths.

The creatures began to swarm around Moss Agate, intent on attacking her. She pulled a machete with a green handle and white blade from her gem, and began swinging it wildly. Her eyes were squeezed shut as she flailed her weapon in every direction. "_Get away from me, you horrible things_!" she screamed.

* * *

Before Doc and Eyeball's eyes, something massive was crawling its way up out of the chasm. The first thing either of them saw were its two bright red eyes, each one the size of a Quartz warrior. As it climbed higher, more of it became visible: brown skin with a reptilian snout, and an armored black crest on its head. It's arms had leathery flaps that flowed down the length of its body-wings. It looked just like the winged creatures they had seen before, only much, much larger.

"Captain!" the voice of Army rang out above them. Both Rubies turned around to see her slide down into the caves, followed by Leggy and Navy.

"Glad to see you here!" Eyeball said as the other Rubies ran over.

"I'm glad we were able to find you at all!" said Navy. "Why did you run off like that without telling us?"

"You're one to talk!" said Eyeball.

"We'll talk about this later," Doc said. "Right now, we've got Heliodor's magnum opus to deal with!"

The gigantic monster continued to pull itself towards the hole above. Six glowing spines were now visible sticking out of its back, three on each side. As it drew closer to its destination, it caught sight of the Rubies standing just beside it.

"Uh oh," said Army.

With an echoing roar, the beast tried to slash at them with its massive claws. Its size worked against it, as it was too big to reach them in such a relatively confined space. This gave the Rubies time to get to a safe distance.

"What are we going to do now!?" asked Leggy. "There's no way we can stop that thing!"

"Stow that kind of talk, newbie!" said Doc. "We've made it this far, so we're not about to give up here!"

"She has a point, though," said Navy. "I think we may be outclassed here."

"Maybe," said Doc, "but if we do nothing, we'll never know if doing something would have done anything!"

Silence.

"...What?" said Eyeball.

Doc sighed. "Let's just kill this thing...Rubies! Form up!"

Leggy braced herself as Doc jumped onto her shoulders. Army and Navy each held onto her, and Eyeball stood atop the formation. All five of them glowed bright as their bodies converged into a single form.

"Yeah!" The Ruby fusion shouted. "Let's get 'im!"

Noticing that its foes had assumed a larger form, the monster opted for a larger tactic. It began to concentrate, the spines on its back as well as its veins glowing a bright white. Its spines began to vibrate, slowly at first, until the reverberation reached its peak, causing another massive tremor.

The penta-Ruby stumbled, but didn't fall. The same could not be said for the entirety of the cave they were in, which began to fall apart at the seams. The cave itself began collapsing, sending rocks and debris falling all over the place. Most of these rocks weren't large enough to harm Penta-Ruby, and she was able to duck out of the way of the few that were.

The beast climbed further, tearing its way to the surface. The Rubies had to do _something_, but none of them could figure out what.

Nobody was sure exactly whose idea it was, but it was the best idea they had. It was the only idea they had. Penta-Ruby charged forward as the caverns collapsed, grabbing onto one of the monster's spines as it broke through the ceiling, and breached the surface.

Moss Agate was still fighting the creature's spawn. Many of them had realized that attacking her was a lost cause, and had flown over to the station proper to harass the defenseless Peridots. Moss Agate continued her frenzy of hacking and slashing any creature that dared to come near her.

"You vile, disgusting fiends!" she yelled. "I'll cut through you all! You can't stop me! I am unstoppa-"

It was then that the main monster broke through the surface. Emitting a shriek that could only be registered by beings with a particularly high range of hearing, Moss Agate high-tailed it towards the settlement, forgetting all about her prior tirade.

Meanwhile, Penta-Ruby stood on the creature's back, trying to bash at its spines to no avail. "No use," she said to herself. "You can't break diamond!"

Paying no attention to Ruby nor Agate, the monster instead focused on the small installation in the distance. As an entity of pure, mindless destruction, it oriented itself in the base's direction. It's spines began to glow once more, though instead of causing a quake, this time a light began to shine from the beast's throat.

Penta-Ruby took notice of this. "It's gonna blast the town!" she said. She drove her, or rather, Doc's, sword into the monster's neck, but this did nothing to deter it. Energy began to flow out of its mouth.

Just as the monster was about to obliterate the town, another blast of energy collided with the side of its head. It seemed to do no damage, but it did shift its head to the side, redirecting the projectile to a mountain off to the side. Said mountain was instantaneously vaporized in a massive explosion.

Both the creature and Rubies turned their heads in the direction the blast had come from. It had come from a red spaceship, which was now flying low towards the town. Penta-Ruby saw a familiar figure leaning out the ship's side door.

"Ha! I figured you were in over your heads!" cried Red Lace Agate.


	23. April, Part 2

Chapter 23: April, Part 2

* * *

"Red Lace Agate's here!" shouted Penta-Ruby.

The Agate's ship fired several more blasts of energy at the monster. All this seemed to do was make it mad, though it did focus the beast's attention away from the settlement for a moment.

"Looks like now's our chance," Penta-Ruby said. She summoned Army's mace, slamming the weapon against the creature's spines. The impact rung out, but the spines still wouldn't break. "No good. We need to think of something else."

The giant beast began to vibrate its spines again. The pillars of clear crystal glowed with a bright white light as the ground below began to shake; slowly at first, the tremors built in intensity until the very ground beneath them began to crack. Fortunately, the base still stood, and Penta-Ruby was able to prevent herself from falling off the beast's back.

This also had the effect of drawing many of the smaller creatures towards the Rubies. The flying beasts swirled and swarmed around them like a flock of malevolent vultures. The light was almost blocked out by the sheer number of them. As the monsters started to attack Penta-Ruby, she summoned Eyeball's dagger and Navy's fan, fending off her attackers holding one in each hand.

"How are there so many of these dumb things?" she wondered aloud. She cut them out of the sky in scores, but no matter how many she struck down, the cloud of creatures seemed to stay just as large.

Meanwhile, the base was under assault from the flying monsters as well. Red Lace Agate had flown her ship over to assist. Moss Agate was doing her best to fend them off, but much like with Penta-Ruby, there were too many of them. She and her Peridots were likely to have been overwhelmed had Red Lace not arrived to help.

The ship hovered low to the ground, where Red Lace jumped out, accompanied by a battalion of Rubies. The red Gems immediately got to work at culling the horde of airborne monstrosities.

Red Lace Agate ran to join Moss Agate. "Figured you guys could use some backup!" she said, summoning her trident.

"You couldn't have picked a better time to show up, Red!" cried Moss Agate. "These horrible things would have eaten us all if it wasn't for you!" She sliced one of the monsters that was lunging at her clean in half.

Both Agates now stood back to back, hacking and slashing through the droves of beasts. "We can talk about this later, Mossy!" said Red Lace. She threw her trident, which pierced three of the creatures, before summoning another weapon. "We've got bigger problems than these little ones."

Penta-Ruby was still fending off the swarm. As she was distracted fighting off the countless flying monsters, the large one was making its way towards the buildings in the distance.

"I think we may have to evacuate," suggested Red Lace Agate. She fired a stream of boiling water from the prongs of her trident, taking out swaths of the creatures in one sweep. "We can probably take care of these little ones, but if that giant thing reaches here, we're done."

"We're done anyway," said Moss Agate. "Rulax-14 may be out of the way, but it _is_ a vital communications junction. If this station is destroyed, all ansible communication in this quadrant of the galaxy will be down."

"So...what you're saying is we're pretty much screwed no matter what we do," said Red Lace Agate.

"Pretty much," Moss replied. "Unless you have a plan to kill it, there's not much we can do."

The Rubies Red Lace Agate had brought with her were doing all that they could to protect the Peridots from the creatures. One of them, though, was caught off-guard when she was lifted off the ground by one of the things. More of them surrounded her, biting her form, until she was destabilized. Her gem clattered to the ground. Left defenseless, it looked like a Peridot would soon share the same fate as the monsters surrounded her.

Moss Agate was not about to let that happen. "No you don't!" she yelled, driving her machete into the ground with all the force she could muster. Almost instantly, numerous spikes made of rock shot out of the ground, impaling the creatures and protecting the Peridot from harm.

"Actually," said Red Lace Agate, "I think I may have an idea."

Despite Penta-Ruby's best efforts, the titanic monstrosity was growing nearer to the base. Not only that, but she was also beginning to lose the battle with the smaller ones. They had begun to bypass her defenses, slowly wearing her down bit by bit with bites and scratches. She was becoming weary not only from the battle, but from the effort to remain fused for so long.

The base was less than a hundred meters away now. Penta-Ruby fell to her knees as she was swarmed by the flying monsters. "I...I couldn't do it," she said. "_We_ couldn't do it." In her vulnerable state, the monsters covered her entire body, biting every inch of her form. She did nothing to fight back, feeling it was pointless. "Hey, at least we gave it our best shot, right?"

Just when Penta-Ruby was about to allow herself to give in to her injuries, her attention was grabbed by a rumbling sound. Her eyes opened, being drawn to the colossus' spines, but this tremor was not the work of this beast. Suddenly, the monster's path was blocked as several massive spikes of rock shot up out of the ground, causing it to rear back.

Penta-Ruby shoved the creatures off of her before running to see where these defenses had come from. Down at ground level, she could just make out Moss Agate with her hands placed on the ground. Red Lace Agate was standing behind her, fending off any creatures that flew too close.

"Way to go, Agates!" Penta-Ruby shouted. More of the creatures swarmed all over her, but she was invigorated by this new development, knowing that they now had a chance. As the creatures covered her, she felt her powers growing. She unleashed a wave of fire and heat, instantly incinerating all of her attackers. Now augmented by the power of flame, she summoned Doc's sword once again, the blade engulfed in fire. She stabbed it into the monster again and again.

Penta-Ruby's renewed attack, combined with the growing number of spikes emerging from the ground, was beginning to make the monster quite angry. So angry, in fact, that it decided that destroying this lowly base was not worth its time. However, that meant it had to pick another target. And _that_ meant it had to leave the planet.

The monster unleashed a mighty roar, its leathery wings unfurling. It began to beat its wings, slowly at first, each flap sending a powerful gust of wind into the small settlement. The creature's massive frame slowly rose towards the heavens, taking Penta-Ruby with it.

Penta-Ruby only stumbled at first, until the monster went fully vertical. She cried out in fear, grabbing hold of one of its spines as it ascended higher and higher.

The flaps were slowly shaking her loose, however. She soon lost her grip, futilely trying to grab onto the monster's back as she fell towards the planetoid's surface.

Just in the nick of time, she was able to grab the tip of the monster's tail. The atmosphere grew thinner and thinner, which fortunately was of no difference to Penta-Ruby.

Down on the ground, the Gems at the station looked skyward towards the rising monster.

"I think it worked!" cried Moss Agate. "Not what I was expecting to happen, but I'll take it!"

"Where exactly is it going, though?" asked one of the Peridots.

"Who cares, as long as it's away from here!" a Ruby replied.

Red Lace Agate, however, did not join in this revelry. "That thing's got my Rubies!" she yelled, running back to her ship.

Meanwhile, Penta-Ruby was holding on as hard as she could. Before long, the monster had reached the top of the sky, completely escaping the planet's gravitational pull. The beast stopped flapping its wings, its spines taking over. The crystal spires began glowing, the light enveloping its body. The monster was using its powers to pull itself through the vacuum of space.

With gravity no longer dragging them down, Penta-Ruby began to pull herself up the monster's tail towards its head. "What are we even going to do?" she asked herself. "This thing's too big, there's no way we can do anything to it!"

The Ruby fusion leaned against one of its spines. "We've got to do _something_. No doubt it's looking for more Gems to destroy, and we're the only ones who can stop it." She suddenly looked forward, her eyes opening wide. "We're the only ones who can stop it!" she said. "If we don't do anything, all of Gemkind is doomed!"

That statement was most likely an exaggeration, but the Rubies still felt the urgency nonetheless. Summoning Leggy's shovel, she stabbed it into the flesh near the spine. She figured if she couldn't destroy them, it might work to separate them from their owner.

The monster took notice of this, however. It spiraled as it flew in an attempt to shake the tiny hitchhikers off. Fortunately, Penta-Ruby's personal gravity was attuned to the creature, so although she lost her balance, she didn't drift off into the void. With this not working, the beast turned its head towards the Rubies and began charging up an attack in its mouth.

Energy shot out of the monster's mouth in a straight beam. Penta-Ruby dove out of the way just as it fired, but was still clipped by the blast. She looked to her right, noticing that a section of her shoulder was simply gone, carved out in an instant by the beast's attack. She shook it off and started running towards its head.

More and more beams shot forth from the creature's mouth, with Penta-Ruby narrowly dodging and ducking each of them. Some of the beams connected with the monster's body, but these did not harm it in the slightest.

Soon the Rubies reached its neck, leaping onto its head. The monster thrashed and shook, roaring into the abyss, but they held on tight.

Penta-Ruby slashed at any skin she could reach with her knife. It seemed to do no more than make the beast angrier than it already was, which only made the situation worse. The monster reached towards its face with its claws in an attempt to grab onto its tiny attackers.

"Oh yeah, I forgot it had those," Penta-Ruby said.

One of the claws grabbed the fusion, pulling it away from the beast's face. She struggled against its grip, managing to get one of her hands free. With this arm, she Summoned Doc's sword, driving it through the beast's palm. The claw no longer gripping her, she leapt towards the monster's face. Her knife was drawn, which she had the intent of driving into the monster's eye.

The beast turned its head in her direction, however. Unable to redirect her course, Penta-Ruby found herself helplessly drifting right into the monster's open maw.

The beast's jaw clamped shut on the hapless Rubies, but their combined form was just able to hold it open. It was taking all of her strength, however, and it looked like she would be chomped.

"Just...just hold together!" she told herself. "We've got this!"

Just then, a white light began to glow from within the monster's throat. All of the Rubies were suddenly hit by the realization that there was nowhere to go. If they stayed in place, they would be vaporized. If they let go, they would be crushed by the beast's jaw. The prospects were looking grim.

One of their numbers, however, would not allow them to be defeated so easily. The fusion glowed as Eyeball split off, descending down the creature's gullet.

"Ruby! What are you doing!?" the four-Ruby fusion yelled after her.

Eyeball summoned her knife. "Finishing this," she said. She slipped down the beast's throat, and out of sight.

Eyeball was no expert on organics, but she knew that just below the surface lay something they could not live without: their heart. Stopping inside the creature's chest cavity, she saw that the glowing light was coming from said organ. She did what she knew best; she stabbed her knife directly into it. Light shined from the wound, brighter than before.

The beam still emerged from the beast's mouth, thankfully not with enough power to vaporize the Rubies. It did, however, split them apart and send them flying. All five of them drifted outwards away from the monster.

Speaking of the monster, Eyeball's attack seemed to have been enough. It shuddered for a moment, before the glow surrounding its body gradually dimmed. It's eyes went dull and its form went limp as it drifted silently into the void.

The Rubies were likewise drifting to the void. "Not again!" said Leggy. The Ruby was beginning to panic.

"Captain! What do we do now?" asked Navy.

"Not much we _can_ do," said Doc.

"Hey, look at that!" said Army, pointing towards the monster. The creature had ceased all movement as it drifted through the emptiness.

"Looks like we did it…" said Eyeball.

"Yeah. Yeah, I guess we did…" said Doc. All five of the Rubies were drifting through space once again, with no hope of rescue. But at least this time, they could rest peacefully with the knowledge that this time, they had accomplished their mission.

Before even five minutes had passed, Leggy's head bumped against some sort of object. Looking up, she saw the shape of Red Lace Agate's ship.

The Agate was leaning out of the ship's side door. "Need a ride?" she asked.


	24. Epilogue

Chapter 24: Epilogue

* * *

Moss Agate braced herself against a wall, exhausted from summoning so many massive stone spikes in such a short amount of time. She almost fell to the ground, with two of her Peridots holding her up.

"My Agate, are you alright?" one of them asked.

"Yes, yes, I'm just fine," she said. "It's just been so long since I've seen any action. Help me inside the archives, would you?" Her Peridots did so, where she sat down on a stool next to a pile of wayward files. Said files were strewn all over the floor, having fallen off of their shelves during the massive assault. "It may take a while to pick all of this up," Moss Agate said.

After much fighting, the battle had finally been won. Not long after Red Lace Agate had taken off after the lead monster, the Rubies she had brought with her took care of the rest of the flying creatures, with some help from Moss Agate. Rulax-14 was now as silent as it had always been, though this silence was different. This silence was one of peace and tranquility, rather than boredom and isolation. Every Gem there was relieved to have survived the ordeal, and so a little peace and quiet was more than welcome.

As she relaxed, Moss Agate's mind was far from relaxed. She had been in charge of this station for centuries, and all of these creatures had been lying just below the surface the whole time. If that little pack of Rubies hadn't shown up, the monsters may never have even come to the surface! Still, they had always been down there, and they were bound to emerge one day, whether the Rubies had found them or not.

As her mind wandered, Moss Agate was soon jolted back to reality as a Peridot entered the archives, bringing an update. "My Agate! Red Lace Agate has returned, and it looks like she brought her Rubies with her!"

Moss Agate stood up, having rested enough to do so on her own. "I suppose I should go greet them, then. Thank you, Peridot."

Red Lace Agate's cruiser touched down just beyond the base. It's occupants departed, the smaller ones overcome with ecstasy. They could be seen jumping around and hugging one another, clearly elated not only to have succeeded, but also to have survived. Red Lace was much more reserved, but Moss could tell her old friend was just as happy as her Rubies were.

Upon reaching the base, Navy's first action was to tackle one of the other Rubies out of sheer joy. Another one jumped on top of them, an impromptu wrestling match beginning just then. Leggy was clinging to both Army and Eyeball's arms, all three of them laughing happily. Doc was excitedly talking to Red Lace, who was hanging on her every word.

"...it looked like it was going to blast us, but then Ruby split off and ran down its throat! I thought she was crazy, but then it exploded!"

Red Lace Agate laughed. "Oh, yes, I saw that. You five really did an excellent job."

"Yeah we did!" said Doc, before saluting. "I mean, yes, My Agate!"

Red Lace Agate chuckled, patting Doc on the head. "You make a great captain, you know that?" Doc's face lit up.

"Thank you, My Agate," she said, beaming.

"That goes for all of you," the Agate said, all faces turning towards her. "The five of you performed excellently given what you were up against. And as for all the rest of you, you may have had short notice, but you fought valiantly nonetheless. I'm very proud of you all."

As the Rubies revelled in this praise, Red Lace Agate approached Moss Agate. "You weren't half bad yourself," the former said.

"Oh, I didn't do much," Moss Agate said. "I only erected the defenses that kept that abomination from tearing this entire base apart, nothing much."

"Humble as always," Red Lace replied. "Regardless of who did what, I'm just glad this whole nightmare is behind us." The two walked down the main road of the base while the Ruby Squad regaled the Peridots and their fellow Rubies with tales of their heroics.

"I haven't seen you in some time," said Moss Agate. "We haven't had any opportunity to just...talk."

"What is there to talk about?" said Red Lace Agate. "Aside from this whole 'Project: Birthstone' nonsense, I mean. I know you're isolated out here, but I assume you're up-to-date on the goings-on of the empire, right?"

"That isn't what I meant," Moss replied. "I mean talking about us."

"Again, not much to talk about," said Red Lace. "Don't get me wrong, I miss those days too, but if there isn't time for us to hang out, then there isn't time."

Moss Agate sighed. "Fine. I don't know what I expected. You've always been the hard-nosed type, you know that?"

"Hey, I'm an Agate," she said. "It's a built-in trait." She turned back, seeing that her Rubies were now quite popular among their fellows, holding them up above their heads. "You know, I've always been fond of those five."

"I thought you weren't the type to play favorites," said Moss.

"I never said they were my favorites, just that I liked them," said Red.

"I can see why," said Moss Agate. "You know, they may be a couple of pains in the neck, but they really grow on you after a while."

Red Lace Agate laughed. "You just described just about every Ruby I've ever dealt with! In any case, I'm glad you're fond of them, because they're here to stay."

"I wouldn't have it any other way," Moss replied.

* * *

Before long, it was time for Red Lace Agate and her menagerie to depart. After quite a few bittersweet goodbyes, all her Rubies all packed in to her ship, save for five.

"Bye, Red Lace Agate," said Leggy, hugging the Agate's legs. "It was good to see you again. Will you call again later to say hello?"

Red Lace pat the Ruby on her head. "Of course I will, newbie," she said. She looked up towards her other Rubies, all of whom were standing at attention. "What are you lot doing? This is no time for protocol, get over here!"

All of the Rubies ran up into a giant group hug with their Agate. "I really am proud of you little guys," she said. "Now, I know it isn't exactly glamorous here on Rulax-14 now that Heliodor's monsters are dead, but…"

"It's alright, My Agate," said Army. "I don't really mind standing out, so long as I can do my duty!"

"Yeah, and besides, at least it'll be quiet now!" said Doc. "After all that craziness, doing nothing will be a welcome change of pace!"

"Good girls," said Red Lace with a smile. She stood up and got on the ship. "Now you all behave for Moss Agate, you hear?"

The Rubies all saluted in unison, Leggy only lagging behind a small bit. Moss Agate stood just behind them, giving one final glance to Red Lace Agate, who returned a small grin.

"See you around, Mossy. It's been real."

With that, the door slid shut, and the ship took off towards the heavens. The Rubies and Moss Agate watched it rise higher and higher until it was little more than a speck in the night sky, and then was gone.

"Well, this has been an interesting few weeks, hasn't it?" said Navy. "Like you said though, I am glad it's over!"

"You said it," Leggy said.

"Not to break up this moment of reflection," said Moss Agate, "but we really should get this place cleaned up."

"Yes, Moss Agate!" said Doc. "Will we be picking up the holo-files in the archives again?"

"Not this time," the Agate responded. "I've got the Peridots on that." Moss Agate gestured towards the base proper. The Rubies turned around to see that the entire base was littered with the corpses of dozens of winged creatures.

"I don't care how you do it, just get those hideous things out of here!" Moss Agate cried. "I'm getting light-headed just looking at them…" She shuddered. "I'll be in my office if you need me. Please, don't need me until you're done." With that, the Agate wandered away, muttering something about disgusting organics under her breath.

"Well, you heard her!" said Doc. "Get to picking those things up, on the double!"

"Do we have to?" groaned Army.

"Hey, you heard the captain!" said Eyeball. "Get to it already!"

Reluctantly, the five began to relocate the bodies. "You know, this may be gross, but at least they aren't trying to kill us," said Navy.

"Agreed," said Leggy. "After facing down that huge one, I feel like anything is better than that!"

Navy nodded. "I'm just glad this whole Heliodor debacle is done with…"

* * *

_Project: Birthstone log entry 12 resume_

The log entry picked up where it left off, the inert gems of Heliodor and the others lying on the floor. Several minutes had passed since April had awoken and subsequently burrowed through the foundation of the lab. After quite a long time of nothing but silence, the door slowly slid open as a figure crept into the dimly-lit room.

Peering around nervously, the figure walked within the light of the camera, revealing her as Cinnabar. She looked down at Heliodor's gemstone, which had faded to a pale gray. She reached down towards it, pausing for a moment. She seemed to consider this decision for some time, before she finally picked up the gem of her fallen commander. Holding it gingerly in her hands, she slowly stepped over the other gemstones and out of the room. Before long, the recording devolved into static, before cutting to a still image of the Diamond insignia. The words "This recording is no longer available" appeared on the screen.


End file.
